As the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control, attention will increasingly turn to restoring provincial, national and global economies. While physical and mental health are the immediate priorities, economic well-being will require more direct work by more people, and probably for a longer period of time.
The power sector has a unique and highly valuable role to play in the post pandemic economic recovery. Although demand for electricity has declined modestly during the pandemic, these are likely temporary effects for the most part. Long-term trends continue to favour electrification and increasing use of electricity. The power industry continues to be a rock-solid source of continuity and dependability, well-suited for dealing with turbulent times.
Power suppliers in Canada have quickly put into place business continuity practices to ensure only key operating personnel are on site while other staff are working from home. Behind the scenes, they have been rescheduling outages in response to requests from provincial grid operators. This means the IESO and other grid operators can better manage demand reductions and make use of the flexibility available from generators to respond to unexpected changes. No generators in Ontario have laid off workers and they continue to utilize local suppliers and businesses for operations and maintenance needs.
The electricity industry can help with post pandemic recovery in four ways:
1. Carrying on business without interruption stimulates sustained economic activity. This includes ongoing employment and investment from the operation of existing assets and purchases through the supporting supply chains.
2. Implementing further enhancements of operating procedures for employee health and safety, to meet elevated standards of infection prevention, beyond those which were previously in place.
3. Pursuing targeted economic development efforts like those of the Bruce Power Retooling and Economic Recovery Council and the Resilient Recovery initiative.
4. Proceeding with new investments, in a range of environmentally responsible forms, as society transitions to a more carbon free economy.
Everyone in this field can take pride in the fact that the power industry, before being asked to do so, has stepped forward in all four areas and is contributing substantially to the post pandemic economic recovery.
The Ontario government has established a Ministerial Advisory Council, which is encouraging collaboration amongst key members of the power industry and preparing advice for the Minister that can be expected to support and facilitate economic growth and job-creation once the COVID-19 state of emergency is over. The role of the Council includes providing input on potential innovative approaches the sector can undertake to support actions and outcomes devised by the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee. Outcomes are to be cost neutral to government and reduce costs to ratepayers.
The Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) has noted that in addition to having employees working remotely wherever possible, new standards and procedures have been put into place across the industry. “This includes restricting access to facilities, opening secondary facilities to reduce employee interactions, extensive between shift cleaning and disinfecting, and preventing interactions between work crews to limit transmission risk.”
Hydro One is offering direct pandemic assistance including bill deferrals for impacted customers. It has also taken commendable steps to highlight the importance of properly addressing mental health challenges on the job. For more information, see this location online.
A new alliance of more than 100 companies in clean energy and clean tech have banded together to form the Resilient Recovery initiative. Their work is also visible online: https://www.resilientrecovery.ca/
And here.
Labour organizations are pulling in the same direction. Matthew Wayland of the IBEW has recently made the case that widespread electrification is one of the main opportunities for lifting the economy out of the post pandemic doldrums. He is not alone in pursing this direction of course, as many have observed that electrification of the energy system entails large-scale investment in domestic infrastructure and widens opportunities for low carbon energy sources to displace carbon-based energy sources.
The electricity sector is well positioned to support long-term economic stimulus and growth, be it in expediting energy-related capital projects, in decarbonization efforts, or implementing promising new technologies such as hydrogen and transactive energy systems.
The vitality and promise of the power industry is particularly apparent when new initiatives come forward amidst the challenges of the current pandemic. As an example, a number of Alberta’s oil drillers are developing opportunities to transition to providing services to the emerging geothermal industry. With these projects, they are not only adjusting to make the most of current economic and environmental conditions, they are also helping to get the economy back into gear.
Francis Bradley, the CEO of the CEA, stresses that “COVID-19 does not pose any technical risk to Canada’s electricity infrastructure. Electricity companies have plans in place to ensure uninterrupted service while ensuring any affected employee is able to focus on getting better.”
Plans put forward by the Bruce Power Retooling and Economic Recovery Council include the following:
• The Council will operate for the duration of the pandemic and inclusive of all of Bruce Power’s Ontario-based suppliers. The focus will be on the continued retooling of the supply chain to meet front-line COVID-19 needs, and to plan to contribute to the province’s economy recovery in the short, medium and long term;
• Exploring new uses for nuclear medical applications, including isotopes for the sterilization of medical equipment and long-term supply security. This will include exporting isotopes to assist in the global fight against the pandemic, and launching a project to sterilize and re-use N95 masks through high-volume irradiation;
• Leveraging the strong quality and rigour within the nuclear supply chain to support the health care sector through the rapid production of medical Personal Protection Equipment for front line-workers, including masks, face shields and gowns, along with technology for sanitization and potential re-use, participation in pilot projects to make ventilators within the Bruce Power supply chain or help identify technology options to better utilize existing ventilators;
• Enhancing “Buy Local” tools and approaches to ensure small businesses are utilized fully in communities where nuclear suppliers are located;
• Facilitating the production of hand sanitizer and other cleaning products for distribution to communities, and especially targeted towards seniors and First Nations communities.
For more information on the Council, visit brucepower.com/newsroom/.
It is already clear that in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, an impressive array of promising new initiatives to speed and strengthen the economic recovery are coming from the electricity sector. More can and should be done. At the same time, the industry need not hesitate to highlight the public benefits created by its business initiatives, and the kind of value the power industry delivers to consumers every day of the year, year after year.
All sectors of the economy and all parts of society will need to play their parts and work together to bring the world economy back to full production. However, the power industry, with its long term investments and well-honed ability to deliver on reliability, has a unique role to play.
— Jake Brooks, editor
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