Representatives from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration certified PPL’s Holtwood hydroelectric power plant as a VPP Star site for safety during a ceremony this morning (5/13) at the facility.

The Voluntary Protection Program, VPP, was created in the early 1980s to recognize companies that go beyond compliance to protect worker health and safety. The VPP Star certification is the highest safety recognition given by OSHA.

"Safety has always been a priority at our company," said Chris Porse, senior engineer at the plant. "The VPP process has helped us further focus our safety efforts. Today’s recognition reflects the hard work of both management and union employees here at the plant."

According to the administration, VPP participant sites generally experience approximately 60 percent fewer lost workday injuries than would be expected of an "average" site of the same size in their industries.

OSHA looks at four major categories to determine if a facility is worthy of VPP Star status: leadership and employee involvement, hazard prevention and control, work site analysis and training. Then a team of health and safety experts comes to the site to find out more about the facility’s safety programs. The Holtwood plant began the VPP certification process in 1998.

"We have always been a very safe plant," said Kevin Doutrich, chairperson for Holtwood’s Health and Safety Committee. "Even so, it’s always nice to be recognized as a clean and safe place to come to work everyday."

Only 932 work sites have earned recognition in the program out of more than 7 million that OSHA monitors.

PPL Holtwood is one of six PPL facilities that have achieved VPP Star status. The plant, located on the Susquehanna River about 15 miles south of Lancaster, Pa., employs about 20 people and began commercial operation in 1911. It generates about 110 megawatts of electricity.