Safety is one of the core values of our business. At Allegheny, we put safety first in everything we do -- at all levels of the organization. We want all employees to return home to their families without injury at the end of each day. Our goal is to build upon the excellent safety record we have already achieved and to be among the best in the industry, year-in and year-out. Safety performance at our power plants already ranks at the top of our industry, and we continue to exceed our annual safety goals on the delivery side of the business as we strive for zero injuries. And with our new initiatives, we will also improve the health, safety and well-being of our employees outside the workplace.
Leadership in protecting the environment is another primary focus at Allegheny Energy. We conduct all of our operations to be in full compliance with existing environmental regulations, but to be a top-performing organization, we intend to do better. We want to set the standard for environmental stewardship by achieving and maintaining an environmental record that each of our employees can be proud of -- not because we are required to do it, but because it's the right thing to do.
Allegheny is investing over $1 billion over the next several years to install sulfur-dioxide control technology at two of our largest coal-fired power stations and enhance the current control system at a third plant. We expect to see the amount of sulfur-dioxide emissions decrease by 70 percent from 2005 levels across our fleet. This equipment will also help with the reduction of mercury emissions. In the interim, we will do our part to keep emissions down by burning up to 3 million tons of low-sulfur Western coal annually at several of our generating facilities.
We established a new Environment, Health and Safety Policy in 2006 that spells out our commitment in these important areas of our business. We consider environmental stewardship and excellence in safety so critical in our success, in fact, that we have made them two of the goals in our quality improvement plan -- the blueprint that is guiding how we do business now and into the future.
Allegheny Energy is in business to produce and sell electricity and to provide service to our customers at reasonable rates, while also giving our shareholders a fair return on their investments. We can and will fulfill that mission while being a good corporate citizen that respects and protects the health, safety and environment of all our constituents.
I am proud of Allegheny's past efforts to protect its employees and environment and I am committed to improve that performance even further as we move into the future.
Paul J. Evanson
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
