At the last meeting of this Task force, I came before you to discuss statutory protections for Utility Workers. That issue ties very closely with the issue of safety and reliability of the electrical system. Simply put, if you take steps to ensure system safety and reliability, you take great strides toward mitigating any impact on current and future Utility Workers.
It has been said many times before at these hearings that safety and reliability of our electrical systems depends on a skilled and highly trained workforce. The Commonwealth should take immediate steps to ensure that all workers who build and maintain Generation, Transmission and Distribution systems in Virginia are qualified and certified to do the work.
The IBEW recommends that labor and utility industry representatives, trade associations and educational institutions along with The Department of Labor and Industry work together to establish a comprehensive training, certification and licensing program. This program of training and licensing should be mandatory for all current and future workers performing tasks that could affect the safety and reliability of the system.
Labor and Industry have a long history of improving productivity and worker and public safety. A fine example of that relationship is reflected in the current training programs that are offered at most Utilities. These programs could be used as the benchmark for certification and licensing.
Industry wide maintenance plans and inspection standards should be adopted. Appropriate parameters should include system reliability, power quality, public and worker safety, and customer service satisfaction. Each of these parameters has been regularly measured by utilities and these past records may be used to establish an overall performance and maintenance standard as well as necessary staffing levels to maintain and exceed the standards achieved in the past.
Strong regulatory oversight is recommended in this area and financial penalties for noncompliance should be set high enough to discourage any financial gains by cutting service quality.
Unfortunately, reliability is a measurement of past history and we will have to wait for the future to determine how well we are doing today.
By adopting standards for training, certification and licensing, along with system reliability and maintenance standards, The Commonwealth will have laid the groundwork for future system integrity. There will be a level playing field for utility workers and industry alike. Consumers will understand what they are paying for and what to expect in service quality. Business and Industry will have a more dependable and reliable electrical energy supply and delivery system on which to base growth decisions.
In all, there are only winners in these proposals. Most importantly though, there will be safeguards in place to protect the worker and the consumer and to insure system safety and reliability that will promote economic growth for this great Commonwealth.