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Sierra Pacific Power Company's Fort Churchill Generating Station recently marked 20 years without a single lost-time injury at the power plant in Wabuska that's about 10 miles north of Yerington.

On March 30, the facility's 35 employees celebrated some 1.4 million man-hours without a lost-time injury that have been worked to keep the power flowing to northern Nevadans.

From 1987 through March 2007, Fort Churchill employees have worked 7,300 days without sustaining any injuries that would require anyone to take time off from work. The plant operates with two, 12-hour work shifts daily, 365 days per year.

Plant Director Wade Barcellos said,"All the glory goes to the employees. They're the ones who do it every day. The average tenure of employees at Fort Churchill is about 17 years. So we have knowledgeable, well trained employees who understand the importance of safely doing their jobs."

Barcellos said he is aware of only one other power plant in the United States that has a better safety record for lost-time accidents.

Barcellos, who has worked for the company for 29 years, including 23 years at Fort Churchill, also attributes the long safety record to a sense of community with most of the plant's employees living in and around Yerington as friends and neighbors.

An awards dinner will be held on May 2 to celebrate the employees' amazing safety accomplishment.

Operational since 1968, the plant's two 110-megawatt generators primarily burn natural gas to generate electricity, but are also capable of using oil as their source of fuel. On an average day, the plant generates enough electricity to supply approximately 100,000 homes and business in northern Nevada.

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