Safety Training. Safety training and education is a key feature of our safety program. APS requires all new hires to complete a general safety training that outlines expectations, regulatory guidelines and the overall safety culture at APS. Additionally, employees at APS are assigned mandatory recurring safety trainings based on their job duties and related regulatory training requirements.

Results. We have successfully reduced the number of overall injuries and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable injuries. Safety performance in 2023 continues to place us in the top quartile of utilities for OSHA recordable injuries. We have also seen a reduction in all injuries of 6% over the past five years.

APS continues initiatives geared toward building on our foundational Integrated Safety Management System to establish a culture of trust and continual learning that effectively addresses safety risks and continues to reduce serious injuries and fatalities. Our safety management system is designed to be consistent with relevant standards including those established by: International Organization for Standardization (ISO 45001:2018), OSHA, Arizona Department of Occupational Safety and Health and other industry standards.

Our safety initiatives focus on identifying high-energy hazard risks to ensure resiliency is built into our work processes and systems to protect employees. We have fully integrated the Safety Classification and Learning (SCL) model established by Edison Electric Institute into our existing programs and event analysis program. All events are reviewed through this model to understand our high energy risk and potential need for controls to reduce or eliminate that risk. With a focus on high-energy hazards, controls, our main objectives are to continue to learn as an organization, grow and adapt based on those learnings and build the capacity to fail safely. Human and organizational performance remains a focus with a priority placed on employee-supported learning teams and corrective actions that control risks by establishing a systems-focused workplace.

Learn about our Safety performance metrics.

As part of this critical focus area, our contract companies are required to review and comply with the Contractor Safety Manual and Accident Prevention Manual. In addition, contractor safety performance and programs are vetted prior to work with APS through a third party. Contractor safety performance is regularly monitored throughout the contracted work. If an incident occurs, we ensure an appropriate investigation is completed and corrective action plans are established.

Central to these objectives is empowering our employees to take ownership of our safety culture through the continued use of employee learning teams. In addition, safety committees operate in organizations throughout the company, providing opportunities for frontline employees to positively impact their local safety cultures and performance.

Through instructor-led education programs, outreach to the media and the use of social media, we raise awareness on topics such as safety around downed electrical wires, maintaining safe working distances around overhead lines, and responding appropriately if unsafe electrical equipment conditions are found. We also provide safety education programs to increase public awareness about electricity and electrical equipment. We reach more than 5,300 Arizonans each year with our electrical safety trailer presentations, which provide live demonstrations of the dangers of electricity by showing controlled arc and fault currents flashes to attendees. In 2023, our electrical safety presentations and electrical safety trailer delivered safety messaging that reached contractors, members of the public and municipal, state, county workers and first responders. We also continue to partner with Arizona 811, a state regulatory-driven excavation staking service, and participated in damage-prevention seminars throughout the state in 2023.

Learn more about public safety.

Executive Safety Committee. Chaired by the Vice-President of Operations Support, the Executive Safety Committee is comprised of senior executives who serve in an advisory capacity for development of the company’s safety policies and performance expectations. The committee advocates to ensure these policies and expectations are in place throughout all lines of business and provides a forum for discussion of the company’s safety performance. This committee meets quarterly with leadership and safety professionals.

Board of Directors. The Nuclear and Operating Committee receives and discusses regular reports from management concerning the environmental, health and safety (EH&S) policies and practices of APS, monitors compliance with such policies, applicable laws and regulations pertaining to EH&S, and reviews and discusses with management how APS can continue to improve its safety practices.