Every day, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC) employees use their skillsets to support our 11 member cooperatives, strengthen the grid, and Power Opportunity for the communities we serve. In our new employee spotlight series, we’re celebrating the people essential to the work of providing access to energy. In this first edition, we spotlight Xing Lin, Environmental, Health, and Safety Specialist at ODEC.
As ODEC’s Environmental Health and Safety Specialist, what kind of responsibilities does your role include?
I wear a few different hats in my role. I’m responsible for water compliance, making sure our monitoring and reporting are accurate and submitted on time, and I also assist with air compliance reporting. For active construction projects, I help manage environmental permitting and compliance requirements. In addition, I oversee the health and safety program at our corporate office, helping ensure employees have a safe and healthy place to work.
Describe your role in one sentence.
I support ODEC’s power generation operations by ensuring environmental, health, and safety compliance while promoting a safe and sustainable workplace for employees.
Safety is one of ODEC’s core values. How do you see that commitment to safety show up in your day-to-day work of powering opportunity for the communities we serve?
Safety is part of everything we do, from planning tasks and conducting inspections to training employees and identifying potential hazards. Every day, we work proactively to protect the health and safety of our employees, ensure compliance, and maintain a strong safety culture across our facilities.
How does safety influence ODEC’s commitment to reliability?
At ODEC, safety is the foundation of reliable operations. When everyone works safely and looks out for one another, it helps keep our facilities running efficiently and ensures we can continue providing dependable power to our communities.
What role do employees across all departments play in maintaining a safe work environment, and how do you encourage that shared responsibility?
Safety isn’t just one person’s job at ODEC—it’s something we all take ownership of. We encourage employees to look out for each other, speak up about concerns, and make safe choices every day. That teamwork and shared responsibility help create a culture where everyone feels supported, respected, and safe.
You recently became a Certified Loss Control Professional. What does this certification mean, and how does it enhance your work at ODEC?
Becoming a Certified Loss Control Professional was a rewarding achievement for me. The program expanded my understanding of utility safety and risk management and gave me valuable tools that I can apply in my day-to-day work. It has helped me grow professionally and allows me to better support ODEC’s efforts to keep our employees safe and promote a strong culture of safety across the organization.
What motivates you most about working in safety, and what message would you share with others about the importance of safety in the energy industry?
What motivates me most is knowing that what we do helps make sure everyone goes home safe to their families at the end of the day. In the energy industry, safety has to come first. It is not just about preventing injuries, but about protecting our people, our environment, and the communities we serve.
What are you most proud of in your work?
I’m most proud of helping create a workplace where safety and employee well-being come first. It’s rewarding to know that my work helps keep people safe, reduce risks, and support the reliable power generation our communities depend on every day.
What makes ODEC a great place to work?
ODEC feels like a big family. People genuinely care about each other, work together as a team, and support one another’s professional growth. That culture of collaboration and respect is what makes ODEC such a great place to work. I’m also proud to be part of an organization that puts its members and communities first while providing affordable, reliable, and responsible power.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself. 
When I’m not at work, I enjoy working in my flower garden and fishing from dawn to dark whenever I get the chance. If I try a dish I really enjoy at a restaurant, I’ll usually come home and challenge myself to recreate it from scratch.
