November 10, 2008

At its annual meeting in Savannah today, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (GEMC) presented its No Lost Time Award to Georgia Transmission Corp. (GTC) in recognition of the company’s fourth straight year with no accidents requiring time off from work.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, workplace injuries and illnesses among utilities resulting in days away from work occur at an average annual rate of 4.2 cases per 100 full-time employees. Georgia Transmission Corp. (GTC), a company of more than 250 employees, builds and maintains high-voltage power lines and substations for the 39 of the state’s distribution co-ops.

GEMC is the trade association for Georgia’s 42 not-for-profit member-owned utilities and the statewide power generation and electric transmission cooperates based here.

“Each EMC has extensive safety training and awareness programs in place because there are many hazards associated with electric utility work,” says Jim Wright, Georgia EMC’s vice president of Training, Education & Safety. “In light of the type of work our EMC employees do, the No Lost Time Award is a remarkable accomplishment.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) implemented safety standards in 1994 to protect electric utility employees who are exposed to dangers such as shock, electrocution, fires and explosions. The guidelines provide ways to minimize potential hazards by ensuring that equipment and systems are properly designed and used. Even before OSHA introduced its regulations, EMCs had extensive safety programs in place to protect employees.

GTC was one of seven state cooperatives to receive a No Lost Time Award this year.

About GEMC

Georgia EMC is the trade association representing the state’s 42 electric cooperatives, Oglethorpe Power Corp., and Georgia Transmission Corp. The EMCs provide electricity and related services to four million Georgians, nearly half of state’s population, across 73 percent of the state’s land area.

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Contact: Terry Cullen
Phone: (770) 270-7207
Email: terry.cullen@gatrans.com