Saskatchewan coal power plants have their workers buzzing with excitement now that the province has confirmed they'll be extending the plants' lifetimes past 2030. Despite a federal initiative to close those by 2030, the provincial government stated in a letter to SaskPower employees that coal power would remain a segment of Saskatchewan's power production strategy into the future.
Ken Hoste, the assistant business manager with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2067, talks about his reaction to those power plants staying online.
"This announcement has been amazing. Since this started in 2018, it was basically when the talks of the coal phaseout started. There's been some dark days where a lot of my membership was wondering, 'what's going to happen? Are we shutting the doors?' We've had people who have left our union, left the organization. The ones who hung on have been under quite a bit of stress. That stress, as of last Wednesday, has been lifted."
Since the original determination by the federal government that coal plants would be closed down, Hoste says that the workers were just looking for consistency.
"I think the biggest problem my members had was there was a lack of a consistent message, both from the company and a little bit from the government, also. It seemed as if the goalposts were changing, kind of every several months, we were getting a different message."
"I'm a third-generation coal worker myself. This is just kind of what we do in this industry. There was a time when, when you got on, either at the coal mine or at SaskPower, you're basically set, you've got your career, you've got great opportunities for the rest of your career, and a lot of my people felt like this was being taken away."
Now that the plant will be staying open, Hoste's biggest feeling is one of relief that those workers will keep their jobs.
There may also be new positions opening up and old positions filled with recruits.
"As far as bringing on some more people, I think the future looks bright. That's the company's job; they kind of do the hiring, but I think the future does definitely look bright for the coal workers in southern Saskatchewan."
While the topic of keeping those coal power plants had been mentioned earlier this year, Hoste is glad to see a definitive statement come from the provincial government.
Even as nuclear power comes into the Estevan area, Hoste feels that the workers will get the chance to move industries and stay in the Estevan area with a great job.
"A lot of my members work in highly technical trades. A lot of them are higher-level power engineers, second and first-class power engineers. The technical trades to the mechanics, the electricians, instrument techs, everybody else, that's what tradesmen and operators do, they embrace technology. So a lot of them are definitely interested in moving into the field."
The benefits also reach the surrounding communities, with Hoste excited to see Estevan and Coronach share in the plant's benefits.
"For people working in the coal industry, it's not just a job. It's one of the backbones of both these communities, especially Coronach. This decision gives us a lot of hope, it gives us a clear path forward. This is something we haven't had since 2018. We've got some long-term certainty."
"Speaking for Estevan, when you go downtown and 4th Street has several businesses closed. I'm looking forward to seeing some of those fill up because these coal workers are eating in the restaurants, buying new vehicles, and shopping local. I only see all these things trending up. This is going to be a lot of opportunity for the entrepreneurial type of people in our city, too."
Hoste thanked the various community members, politicians, and investors who helped to keep coal going and expand it past 2030. He said that keeping coal power going past 2030 is a no-brainer.
"Saskatchewan's grid still needs stable base load power, especially when you look at the winter months, and the renewables path that we seem to be on was just not going to provide that base load power. So this decision isn't just about job security for people in the south. This is good for everyone in Saskatchewan, and that we're going to have a guarantee of energy security."
The province mentioned that future work for coal plants in the province will include the Boundary Dam, Poplar River, and Shand Power Stations.