Watch the GasWorX ribbon-cutting here.
Think of the sizzling, delectable meals you can cook with ease on your natural gas stove. Think of endless warm water cascading in your shower after a long day. Think of all the ways TECO Peoples Gas livens the lives of more than 375,000 customers like you across Florida and brings affordable comfort and convenience home.
For all that to happen, safety must come first, starting with our trained professionals who put their best efforts into serving you. And to ensure safety is part of everything we do, we’re proud to introduce a brand-new facility in Tampa that, blows, burns and leaks gas daily (in fact that’s the idea): the new TECO Peoples Gas GasWorX training facility is where the men and women of Florida’s largest natural gas provider hone their skills in service to not only our top priority – safety – but the entire range of work to install and maintain gas infrastructure as well.
To put it simply, GasWorX is a dream of accident prevention made real…in a simulated community, no less. It features a fully functioning natural gas system with nearly every type of mechanism related to the delivery of gas to homes and businesses. A mock neighborhood that runs on actual appliances, thousands of feet of pipe, meters and much more lets us safely simulate just about any gas-related emergency as we get better and faster at making repairs.
“This place, and the things that are taught here, is a cornerstone of ensuring every team member that we have at Peoples Gas and the team members of our business partners go home safely every single day,” said T.J. Szelistowski, president of TECO Peoples Gas, in remarks at the facility’s ribbon-cutting ceremony in October. “Our intent is this facility will set the standard for safety and technical training across the gas industry in the Southeast.”
GasWorX is adjacent to the Tampa Electric training facility for power line workers that’s earned praise from across North America and the Caribbean. The goal with this newest addition to TECO’s safety portfolio is the same, and it complements our rigorous training and safety programs and safety upgrades we’re bringing to all areas of TECO.
“As more and more people across Florida come to see the incredible value and appeal of natural gas from TECO Peoples Gas, the lifestyle benefits, economic development opportunities that come from gas and many other things it brings are all possible because of our rock-solid commitment to safety,” said Rick Wall, vice president of Gas Operations. “GasWorX is a crucial piece of the puzzle.”
Luke Buzard, director of Pipeline Safety & Operational Support, agreed.
“Our commitment to pipeline safety includes the consideration of our team members, business partners, customers and the general public – our GasWorX training facility is fundamental to that commitment and provides an environment where we can prepare our team members in a very unique way across all aspects of operating our pipeline system,” he said. “Our Peoples Gas team members are excited about GasWorX because they take pride in doing their jobs safely and in the right way the first time.”
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