Issue link: http://alabamapower.uberflip.com/i/615300
AUGUST • Alabama Power finished second in the South in the J.D. Power 2015 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study, charting one of the nation's highest scores. Alabama Power was three points behind the No. 1 company in the South, earning a score that would have been first place in the East or Mideast regions. • For the fourth year in a row, Alabama Power topped Southern Company's proprietary Large Business Customer Value Benchmark study of 20 peer utilities. As most utility company scores fell in 2015, Alabama Power improved to a record 9.62 on a scale of 10. • Employees across the state aided children returning to school. The Gorgas APSO Chapter bought 500 backpacks and filled them with supplies for distribution. Barry APSO members purchased $1,500 worth of supplies for kids. Southern Division workers donated supplies, while also planting flowers and performing maintenance at one school. Gaston APSO members painted a school entrance and donated food for needy students. SEPTEMBER • At Alabama Power's Brighter Minds education summit, it was announced the Foundation in 2014 gave $3.2 million to boost learning in the state. More than 100 educators, community leaders and government officials attended the second annual gathering. • The Alabama Public Service Commission unanimously approved a proposal by Alabama Power to secure up to 500 megawatts of renewable generation during the next six years. The plan provides options for the company to work with customers who've made renewable generation a priority, while protecting other customers from bearing additional costs. • More than 20,000 students at the University of Alabama descended on the Ferguson Student Center Plaza where many visited the Alabama Power booth to learn about the Shorelines iPhone app, volunteer opportunities with Renew Our Rivers and the future of electric transportation. OCTOBER • The Alabama Power Foundation awarded more than $60,000 in 2015 Gateway grants. Thirty-three grants will provide materials for signs to welcome visitors into towns across Alabama. In just four years, the foundation has awarded nearly $200,000 to 100 communities. • Power Delivery Services' 260 employees won the Target Zero Silver Award for completing one year without a recordable injury, and then surpassing that impressive mark. The employees working in all six divisions cumulatively drive more than 2 million miles annually. • Birmingham Fire Department officials called Alabama Power "tops among other corporations in the city" after the annual Corporate Headquarters fire drill. About 2,250 employees and tenants needed less than 23 minutes to safely exit the building. NOVEMBER • The Department of Energy (DOE) announced an $18 million grant for a project at Plant Barry to devise best practices for reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and lowering costs for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). Plant Barry's CCS project has been ongoing since 2011. The CO 2 is extracted from flue gas generated during power production, then stored underground in the Citronelle Dome, an oil field about 12 miles from the plant. • Brookwood High School received a $7,500 Alabama Power Foundation Students To Stewards grant to build an outdoor classroom and sustainable garden. Faculty, students and Western Division APSO members worked together to clear a wooded area next to the school and construct a teaching platform, 12 benches and an area in which to grow plants. • Americans celebrated Veterans Day Nov. 11, honoring the men and women, including many Alabama Power employees and retirees, who have valiantly served the nation. DECEMBER • Alabama Power completed its innovative underground loop project in downtown Birmingham. The electric redundancy system enables Children's Hospital facilities to switch to another power source if the main substation fails. The project that started in 2012 also benefits the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) North Pavilion Hospital and UAB's Women and Infants Hospital. • Alabama Power employees donated to Angel Tree and other charitable Christmas efforts, while providing gifts, meals and other services to thousands of needy people in communities across the state. • Alabama Power's diverse fuel mix will pay off for customers in the coming year. Lower coal and natural gas prices through 2015 will help the company offset rising costs related to federal regulations. The result: a 2 percent reduction in the total retail price paid by customers through 2016. 5 Students at the University of Alabama learned about the Shorelines iPhone app, Renew Our Rivers and electric cars.