ONE TEAM

ONE FUTURE

PLANT

BOWEN
TIM BANKS,

Manager, Plant Bowen

I

f you don’t take Plant Bowen in small increments, it’ll overwhelm you! We’re the second 

largest generating plant in the Western Hemisphere. We are in the midst of constructing 

and starting up four of the largest scrubbers of their kind in the world. We unloaded 9.1 

million tons of coal in 2007, and we made a lot of power – 22,900 GWH. Our Equivalent 

Forced Outage Rate was 2 percent, an outstanding measure of reliability that tells us we are 

world class. And we’ve done it all in the spirit of safety, as our more than 440 employees 

worked 283 days straight last year without a recordable safety incident. 

The real magic of Plant Bowen is our people. Everyone is fully engaged on the front end of 

every process. Each person has an opportunity to take part in planning and decision making.

Bowen employees communicate expectations, work across organizational lines, and step up 

when leadership is required. They work to minimize the unplanned. Their focus on safety and 

preemptive maintenance moves us to a proactive, rather than reactive mode. And each person

is vital to our success.

Plant Bowen’s philosophy of full engagement continues in the community. Georgia Power’s 

motto is “A Citizen Wherever We Serve.” In nearly every aspect of community and charitable 

service, you’ll find our people supporting strong communities, education, environmental 

stewardship, and health and wellness. As dedicated volunteers, they take ownership for making 

our communities better places to live.

I’m astounded at what our people achieve. How do they do it? It happens because they have 

embraced personal leadership and on-going communication. As you review our 2007 challenges 

and successes, you will get a sense of the magnitude of this operation and the countless times 

when cooperation, innovation and creativity were exercised by our workforce.

By taking every opportunity to become fully involved in the activities at the plant, and by living 

up to our company’s reputation as community partners, our Bowen family delivered a worldclass performance in 2007. Together, we have created an open environment in which people are 

heard and in which we all have the opportunity to succeed. The results speak for themselves.
The Bowen Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) team worked long, hard hours on four new scrubbers that will remove 95 percent 

of sulfur dioxide from plant emissions.

MELANIE COX

Lab Technician

Plant Manager’s Keys to ’08 Success

• Safety – Target Zero 

• Transparency – clearly communicating goals and objectives 

• Executing our Workforce of the Future Strategy – becoming the 

“Employer of Choice” in recruitment, hiring and training to maintain 

workplace excellence through a totally engaged workforce 

• Operations Review Board – exploring opportunities to improve safety 

•	Employee Survey – listening to employees’ needs 

• Southern Style – upholding our company's values of Unquestionable 

Trust, Superior Performance, and Total Commitment. 

Plant Bowen Goal Achievement 2007

1 2 3 4 5 

Overall 

Performance 

Safety 

Peak Season 

EFOR 

Environment 

Commercial 

Availability 
A 

s one of the largest generating facilities in Georgia Power’s system, with a rated 

power output of 3,160 megawatts from its four coal-fired generating units, 

Plant Bowen plays a significant role in meeting the electrical needs of Georgia’s 

citizens. With such a vital responsibility, the men and women at Plant Bowen approach 

their work with true dedication and resolve. 

One of the most significant accomplishments during 

2007 was the outstanding teamwork that allowed the 

plant to achieve a Peak Season Equivalent Forced Outage 

Rate (EFOR) of 0.6 percent from the plant’s four 

large generating units. In addition, there was only one 

recordable accident during 2007, remarkable considering 

the extensive work performed during three large planned 

outages and several other miscellaneous outages while 

also supporting the Scrubber Project teams, training, and 

responding to daily plant maintenance. 

JASON CLEMONS, Apprentice Electrician, (standing)

NIGEL CAMPBELL, Electrician

KEVIN FARREN

Compliance Specialist
E mployees at Plant Bowen take great pride in the teamwork between Management, 

Plant, Construction, Start-up and Engineering. Everyone has bought into the 

concept of “ownership” for the plant’s long-term success. 

For 2008, Plant Bowen will continue to focus on safety, asset awareness, teamwork and 

ownership. It will be extremely important for employees to bring the Bowen 3 and 4 

FGD (scrubber) units into service, commercially available on time and within budget. 

In addition, the plant is facing three large planned outages for 2008 that will require 

maximum teamwork, coordinated planning efforts and enhanced training programs.

LISA JONES (left)

Instrument Technician

STEVE OTT (right)

Instrumentation & Controls

Team Leader
Other major plant milestones for 2007 included: 

• Personnel evaluated burning Illinois Basin coal in the plant’s boilers. After careful 

analysis, it was determined that the fuel savings weren’t sufficient enough to cover the 

cost to switch. 

• Constructed the two largest fiberglass (spun-in-place) scrubber vessels in the world. 

Each vessel is 119 feet in diameter and 54.5 feet tall.

• Operated the largest axial fans in Southern Company’s System. These fans require 

18,500 hp motors. 

• Unloaded 75-car limestone trains for the first time in Southern Company’s system. 

• Started and tuned the largest wet ball mills in the System. One of these 68-ton wet 

ball mills will supply all four units as long as Plant Bowen burns coal with a sulfur 

content of 1.5 percent or lower. 

• Charged up and functionally tested the Makeup Water System using general service 

water. Employees have taken every precaution to conserve water by moving water 

from tank to tank for check-out purposes.

• Stocked out and reclaimed limestone. 

• Energized five electrical bus infrastructures. 

• Established 13.8kv Station Service in Unit 2 via the new 2E Unit Auxiliary 

Transformer. 

• Functionally tested the Return Water System. 

• Jet Bubbling Reactor (JBR) vessel water upstarted. 

• Functionally tested the Oxidation Air System.

• Completed Operational and Material Handling training (classroom, field, and 

simulator). 

• Continuing to develop Operational procedures and checklists. 

• Finalizing maintenance strategy for Process Island and continuing to develop for 

Material Handling. 

• Continuing to order and receive critical Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) spare parts. 

• Continuing to develop FGD compliance and safety deliverables. 

ROY UTT, Security Officer
A commitment to the community has been the trademark of Georgia Power and its 

people since the company’s founding in the 1880s. Today, that desire to serve is as 

strong as ever. In 2007, team members at Plant Bowen participated in these events: 

• Provided hundreds of service hours and thousands of dollars in donations through 

a company volunteer service group called Citizens of Georgia Power (CGP). In 

addition, one Bowen employee served as CGP State President for 2007 and helped 

manage three registered charities with assets exceeding $1.3 million. 

• On Martin Luther King Day each year, Bowen volunteers refurbish an African 

American cemetery in Rome.

• Annually, Bowen employees sponsor a Duck Derby – fundraiser for Bartow County’s 

children’s shelter by providing meals and gifts to children at the shelter during 

Christmas. In 2007, CGP donated $2,500.

• Hickory Log – CGP donated $2,500 and held a Christmas party with meals and gifts.

• Mentor coordinator for Taylorsville School. Team members assist counselors in 

scheduling events including mentor training, holiday parties, etc. at Taylorsville School. 

• Bowen sponsored Girls Going Places. Plant recruited three employees to mentor 100 

girls in this one-day event.

• For Earth Week, recruited employees to beautify school garden area. Participants 

worked 256 hours on this project. Donations to other schools included Euharlee 

Elementary, Cloverleaf Elementary and Cass High School.

• Relay for Life – Bowen workers raised $35,060, coordinated Relay for Life July 4 float 

and Christmas parade float. 

• Salvation Army – Bowen employees ring 

the kettle bell one day each year.

• Chamber of Commerce – Youth Leadership 

committee member worked with 33 

sophomores one Saturday each month for 

nine months on career planning, finances, 

community service, etc. Team members 

also serve on Chamber committees 

including: Golf Play Day for Businesses, 

Youth Leadership, Health Expo, Business 

Expo, Mentoring, HR council.

I

n addition to outstanding

work accomplishments, 

employees and contractors at 

Plant Bowen exhibited exemplary 

community spirit by living 

Georgia Power’s motto of being

“A Citizen Wherever

We Serve.” 

PAT BUFFALOE-BROADNAX

Sr. Administrative Representative, volunteers 

with Summer Hill after-school program.

DEREK DAVIS, Sr. Instrument Technician, RODNEY SCOTT, Engineer, 

JASON CRUMP, Boiler Turbine Operator, and JOHNNY COX, 

Maintenance Team Leader, help build a playground for Tranquility House, 

a home for abused women and their children.

Bowen employees participate in the annual 

Great Allatoona Lake Clean Up.
PLANT BOWEN

317 COVERED BRIDGE ROAD, S.W. 

CARTERSVILLE, GEORGIA 30120

(770) 606-6331