Safety
Our goal is to maintain a safe work environment and deliver electricity and natural gas safely to the communities we serve.
“From COVID-19 to severe weather, we face many events that can take our focus away from the job at hand. We cannot be driven by the events of the day. We must plan and act upon our vision of serving our customers safely and reliably today, tomorrow and beyond.”
– Al Payton, Vice President of Safety and Technical Training
To achieve our safety goal, CenterPoint Energy is guided by the following principles:
- Compliance: We are committed to complying with applicable safety laws and regulations. In fact, the implementation of best practices we have developed over years of service allows us to exceed the requirements detailed in some regulations governing our industry. Employees are expected to adhere to and abide by all company policies, procedures and guidelines for working around and operating our systems in a safe manner. Contractors who perform work for the company are expected to do so safely, in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
- Accountability: Safety is the responsibility of all employees and is a condition of employment. While management sets clear expectations and provides support and training, employees are accountable for understanding and incorporating safe work practices into their daily work activities. Employees are also accountable for reporting incidents, injuries and unsafe practices or conditions so they can be promptly evaluated and addressed.
- Continuous Improvement: We strive to continuously improve our safety culture and performance, embracing training, innovation and technology. We identify opportunities to improve and gain knowledge from proactive learning events, incidents, near-misses, inspection programs and observations submitted by the public or employees. We frequently share learnings with peer utilities to advance safety throughout the industry.
- Customer and Community Focus: We will continue to develop and maintain effective safety programs that educate and inform customers and the public in the communities where we operate. We have increased our outreach to high schools and technical schools to provide educational support while opening the door to job opportunities in the utility industry.
2023 SAFETY PERFORMANCE
| Employee Days Away Restricted or Transferred (DART) Rate | 1.48 |
| Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Recordable Work-Related Injuries | 154 |
| Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) | 1.78 |
| Number of Hours Worked | 17,315,074 |
Governance
The Safety & Operations Committee of the Board of Directors, which was formed in April of 2024, is the highest governance body charged with oversight responsibility of the company’s safety matters, including its safety performance, strategy, risks and processes, and any significant safety incidents or events. It is also charged with oversight of the company’s utilities operations, including emergency preparedness and response, risk management and compliance with regulations and standards.
It is intended that the Safety & Operations Committee, the Board or both will receive periodic reports regarding the company’s safety and operations activities and risks, including safety performance and any significant incidents or events.
SAFETY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE PERFORMANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Because the safety and well-being of our employees, contractors, customers and communities is top of mind, our short-term incentive plan metrics for all employees except our senior leadership team, among other items, measure the effectiveness of our safety protocols and leadership engagement on safety initiatives, as well as customer reliability and responsiveness.
The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors may determine to exercise its discretion and has committed, with management’s support, to reducing the payout to named executive officers to align with the non-executive short-term incentive payouts, which reflect non-financial performance, such as safety.