Monroe Power Plant Earns National Recognition for Worker Safety

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Apr 27, 2011, 10:00 ET

MONROE, Mich., April 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- DTE Energy's Monroe Power Plant recently received the National Safety Council's Occupational Excellence Achievement Award for 2010. In earning the award, the plant achieved a lost-time injury and illness rate that was less than 50 percent of the national rate for similar facilities.

"This award really belongs to each and every Monroe Power Plant employee," said Frank Warren, plant director. "I applaud the men and women who work here day and night for taking personal responsibility for their own safety and for the safety and wellbeing of their coworkers."

"Over 800,000 man-hours of hard work went into this award," said Todd Burger, the plant's Local 223, Utility Workers Union of America, Field Safety Specialist. "The majority of those man-hours were in very adverse conditions, including high temperatures and confined spaces. It takes a deliberate safety approach at all levels to pull this off in a power plant. We are all very proud of this accomplishment and look forward to continuing a positive safety trend."

Plant Manager Brian Rice also congratulated plant employees. "Safety is the top priority and a core value at Monroe Power Plant and throughout DTE Energy," Rice said. "But you can succeed only when each employee adopts a safety-first mindset and works actively to identify and eliminate potential hazards from their job. This award tells me that our workers are making safety a habit. Now, our challenge is to maintain that awareness and move it to an even higher level."

The award is a component of the National Safety Council's Occupational Awards Program, created to recognize outstanding safety achievements among council members. The National Safety Council is an independent organization that promotes workplace safety through leadership, research, education and advocacy.

The Monroe Power Plant workforce comprises about 375 DTE Energy employees in plant operations, maintenance, fuel supply and flue gas desulfurization (FGD) operations. They posted a lost workday incidence rate of 0.24 in 2010 to earn the Occupational Excellence Achievement Award.

DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include Detroit Edison, an electric utility serving 2.1 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, MichCon, a natural gas utility serving 1.2 million customers in Michigan and other non-utility, energy businesses focused on gas storage and pipelines, unconventional gas production, power and industrial projects, and energy trading. Information about DTE Energy is available at dteenergy.com, twitter.com/dte_energy and facebook.com/dteenergy.

SOURCE DTE Energy