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Officials of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration honored PPL Corporation’s Brunner Island power plant in York County, Pa., for the continued quality of its programs to protect worker safety and health.

In 2003, the Brunner Island plant joined a select group of worksites in the country to qualify for “Star” certification under OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program, which recognizes the efforts of employers and employees to reduce job-related injuries and illnesses.

During a ceremony at the plant Monday (11/6), OSHA officials recertified Brunner Island after an extensive evaluation that took place during the summer. “Star” worksites must requalify every three to five years.

“The criteria for receiving ‘Star’ certification are very demanding,” plant manager Steve Marbaise said. “The criteria for recertification are even tougher because OSHA is looking for continual improvement in safety programs and performance.”

Workers at Brunner Island place a high priority on safety, he said. Effective safety rules and work practices are consistently enforced to protect PPL employees, workers from other companies and visitors to the plant.

“Keeping people safe requires attention to detail, support from everyone in the plant and a high degree of labor-management cooperation,” Marbaise said. “We’re very fortunate to have all of those ingredients in place at Brunner Island.”

The plant’s safety and health committee has representatives from labor and management. Safety programs have the strong support of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1600, which represents many of the PPL employees who work at the plant.

In addition to being a safe worksite, the Brunner Island plant is in the midst of major environmental upgrades that will make it an even more valuable economic asset to south central Pennsylvania.

PPL is installing improved environmental controls at the coal-fired power plant that will significantly reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, fine particles and mercury. The company also will add cooling towers to reduce the temperature of water that the plant, which was built in the 1960s, discharges to the Susquehanna River.

The Brunner Island plant generated more than 10 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2005, enough to supply nearly 1 million average homes. It provides about 250 full-time jobs and hundreds more temporary jobs during maintenance and construction projects.

The plant shares the commitment to protecting worker safety with other PPL facilities. Four other power plants in Pennsylvania; two power plants in Montana; about 40 field offices of PPL Electric Utilities; a testing and laboratory facility; a pipeline subsidiary; and the company’s corporate offices also have met the demanding criteria for “Star” certification from OSHA.

PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), headquartered in Allentown, Pa., controls more than 11,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States, sells energy in key U.S. markets and delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in Pennsylvania, the United Kingdom and Latin America.