Safety is a core value at Calpine and part of the DNA that defines who we are. We believe that the proactive management and continuous improvement of our safety and health culture is crucial to our long-term business success ­– and is simply the right thing to do. As a result, Calpine’s world-class safety performance ranks among the best in the industry based on lost-time incidents and total recordable incident rates, the primary indicators of industrial safety performance.

Day-to-day safety practices across our facilities and offices are governed by Calpine’s Three Safety Tenants (Personal Responsibility, Hazard Recognition and Mitigation and Active Caring), Event-Free Operations Guidelines and our Six Cardinal Rules of Hazard Recognition & Mitigation.

We believe:

  • We must demonstrate active caring for our fellow employees and all visitors to prevent unsafe acts and conditions.
  • We must take personal accountability for our actions while seeking and sharing knowledge.
  • We must practice hazard recognition and mitigation by applying discipline, communicating best practices and raising awareness of changing conditions.
VPP Star Worksites

Reinforcing our stringent safety principles, four of our energy facilities have earned Star worksite certification through the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and others are working toward earning this distinction. This is OSHA’s highest level of recognition for outstanding efforts to achieve exemplary occupational safety and health. Calpine facilities achieving this designation are: 

  • Morgan Energy Center
  • Hidalgo Energy Center
  • Magic Valley Generating Station
  • Westbrook Energy Center

Health and Safety

Our Health and Safety programs are predicated on an active and caring culture built on collaboration, communication and a shared commitment to keep each other healthy and safe. We believe that all tasks carry risk, and every action, regardless of how repetitive, also contains risk. We must remain guarded and operate under the premise that circumstances can change in an instant, and we all must be prepared to respond to the unexpected.  Our goal in Health and Safety is to achieve Event-Free Operations through continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Our caring culture, and by extension our Health and Safety programs, is bonded in trust that we will all do our jobs, evaluate and isolate hazards and, most importantly, stop work when required to ensure safety. We mandate that our teams take the time necessary to execute each task correctly, use the right tools, understand the work details and to suspend operations if conditions change or unforeseen circumstances arise. Our safety programs are effective because we hold each other accountable to maintain a safe work environment. Safety trumps all other obligations.

Fundamentally, the success of our Health and Safety programs is driven by our value system, our culture and our ability to trust one another. Each of us, regardless of our position, is accountable to one another, needs to be trustworthy and must share our commitment to achieving Event-Free Operations.

Process and Procedures

Our robust health and safety programs, processes and procedures are founded on Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements set forth in the Code of Federal Regulations. In some cases, Calpine’s obligations are more restrictive.

100%

of Calpine’s Power Operations employees are trained on safety procedures and protocols.

Through our commitment to continuously improve under our Operational Excellence program, we know we succeed when we work together, value one another and keep each other safe and healthy.

Every Calpine Power Operations employee undergoes rigorous safety training, reinforcing our commitment to proactive risk management and continuous improvement.

Communication

A key component of any Health and Safety program is effective, timely communication of relevant information to team members. Accordingly, we have established multiple channels for communication and collaboration, including our Executive Safety Committee, our employee-led Plant and Office Safety Committee, our Good Catch / Near Miss Program and our Best Practice Program. In addition, we utilize several programs to further log and disseminate event and safety information.

Performance

Calpine strives to proactively identify risks and uphold excellent safety conduct. To promote a safety culture of high performance and continual improvement, we benchmark our own performance against peers, conduct internal and 3rd Party safety audits and consistently monitor compliance orders and expectations—adjusting our standards and processes as needed based on our findings.

Highlight Story: Good Catch Program

In 2023, to strengthen safety performance across our fleet, Calpine implemented the Good Catch Program, which promotes and acknowledges employees for the early recognition and intervention to mitigate hazards and risks. By actively identifying hazards ahead of time, Calpine is encouraging employees to speak out and share to prevent unwanted consequences. In 2023 alone, 26 good catches were reported, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness. The Good Catch Program exemplifies ‘See It, Own It, Share It’ and has already proven to be a valuable resource in promoting proactive safety measures.

Emergency Preparedness and Response

As an essential power provider, Calpine understands the importance of preventing, preparing for and responding to emergencies. Upholding business and service continuity and minimizing disruptions are essential components of our responsibility to the communities who depend on us. We are committed to providing reliable power to our customers and communities – and our ability to do so is supported by our readiness to respond to ever evolving challenges.

Calpine dedicates substantial resources and attention to mitigating risks through robust emergency preparedness and response programs. These organization-wide efforts are closely overseen by Calpine’s Executive Team, ensuring a strong and coordinated approach to managing potential emergencies. Our Business Continuity Management Team (BCMT) further supports company-wide emergency planning and response. At the operational level, trained responder teams are in place to undertake emergency response efforts.

Beyond our internal teams and direct operations, Calpine regularly engages local first responders and emergency management officials to review response protocols and conduct training exercises. We also maintain relationships with local branches of federal bureaus. Additionally, Calpine collaborates with our communications network providers so that in the event of an emergency we have a first responder network priority and can communicate and coordinate with local emergency management to support the safety and well-being of communities.

Supplier Safety Standards

Calpine’s commitment to safety includes holding our suppliers to the same high standards we apply to our own operations. Our purchasing decisions factor in a supplier’s safety records, and we actively monitor their behavior across all our locations to ensure compliance with Calpine’s safety standards.