Member Statement (24 April 2024)

From Hansard (22 April 2024)

 

Employees Demonstrate Extraordinary Efforts at Poplar River Power Station

Mr. Keisig: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In June of last year, a torrential rainstorm in the Coronach area caused mud, straw, and debris to flood into SaskPower’s Poplar River power station, damaging equipment and completely filling the 47-foot-deep concrete well that the plant relies on for cooling water. The power plant was brought offline and a staggering amount of work was required to get Poplar River back online after this unforeseen event.

While machinery on the main floor helped clear some of the mess, the only access to the well was through a small hatch just big enough for one person. The only solution was to send employees down into the well to scoop up debris with shovels, load it into barrels, and then hoist them out with a crane one at a time. This was a truly Herculean effort.

It took almost three months of round-the-clock work by staff at the plant to restore service, an estimated 4,900 hours of work. When all was said and done, the equivalent of 128 round bales of hay was removed from the plant, including 88 from the pumphouse alone. Most importantly, this work was done with the utmost care and there were no lost time injuries during the recovery effort.

Please join me in thanking everyone who worked day and night to get the plant back online and generating the reliable baseload power that Saskatchewan families need. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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