Coal-fired power plants will exist past 2030 in Saskatchewan, as the province sent out a letter last month to workers letting them know the power production method would continue. That runs against federal targets to shut down coal plants by 2030, but the province maintains it has sole discretion over power generation methods.
The letter was well received by those in the energy sector, with Rick Dohaniuk, the president of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) 7606, very happy with the news.
"Obviously, it's a very positive announcement. It gives some job security to our members here. Um, there's been a little bit of turnover in the last couple of years because of the uncertainties. So hopefully that corrects that problem, and everybody gets to work until they retire."
Since the original federal edict that coal plants would be phased out, Dohaniuk says that even though there was some worry, they knew that coal would be needed for the future.
"Obviously, there was concern because, you know, you never want to hear that they're trying to shut down your industry. But realistically, we didn't see any alternative power supply available. So I guess they said they were shutting it down, but it kind of seemed like they didn't have anything to replace it with that was dependable. So we're still kind of optimistic, even though the news from Ottawa was pessimistic."
As any nuclear power may take close to a decade to come to fruition in Estevan, Dohaniuk is confident they can keep growing past 2030.
Parts of the letter even mentioned Estevan and the area specifically, with mentions of repowering Boundary Dam's power Unit 4 and refurbishing other power stations and units.
While some coal companies had forecast decreasing coal sales thanks to the end of plants in 2030, the news coming out last month means sales might start tracking upwards.
"Obviously, I don't know what SaskPower's plans are personally, but I would think it would increase our sales. I was told that coal is going to go back to being the baseload source of power. Now, if that's accurate or not, I'm not sure, but that's what the rumor is. Gas would be more of the backup, because it's easier to bring gas up and down, and coal's pretty consistent."
Keeping coal power in the southeast will help more than just power generation, as Dohaniuk says the wages brought by those jobs can be a big help for the southeast community.
"Well, it's huge, right? Because, well, first of all, we've got 325 of our union members, plus probably another 75, 80 staff. So that's 400 direct jobs that are affected by this announcement, plus all the indirect jobs like the grocery store workers and the schools and the teachers and the nurses and doctors, everybody that's going to be affected by the security of 400 well-paid jobs that are going to put good funds into the community, right?"
Dohaniuk hopes to see coal power continue to have a life in the southeast even as nuclear energy becomes an option for the area.
Following the original announcement of more work in the coal sector earlier this year, the industry has been in talks with the provincial government to see what other areas they might be able to expand into.
For the workforce, Dohaniuk is positive that the new will attract more young people into the industry.
"I'm not sure how many, but people were hesitant to come to an industry that was, for lack of a better word, dying. But now that it seems to have a strong future, I think there will be more people coming here to work. Our workforce is getting older, right? Myself included. But there are also lots of young, fairly new employees here, too."
Dohaniuk says that what's good for coal workers is good for everybody in the southeast.