Who Will Replace Hydropower's Aging Work Force?

Many of the men and women running America’s hydropower plants are nearing retirement.

Every sector of the energy industry is expected to lose a large share of its work force as millions of experienced professionals, baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964, become eligible for retirement over the next several years.   

Is the hydropower industry prepared to compete with other industries for a new generation of skilled workers? What’s more, does the industry have a plan for training and knowledge sharing?

A panel of hydropower professionals discussed these worrisome issues this week at the Northwest Hydroelectric Association’s annual conference in Portland, Ore.

There are about 78 million baby boomers in the U.S. They represent 28 percent of the U.S. population and 68 percent of the existing work force. Bruce Meaker, senior manager of Regulatory Affairs for Snohomish County Public Utility District, put those numbers in perspective.

“If you do the numbers over a 25-year period, you get 8,500 boomers going out every day,” Meaker said. “That means one every 10 seconds. That’s a lot of retirement parties.”

About 40 percent of the work force at America’s electric and natural gas utilities will be eligible for retirement in the next five years, Meaker said.

“Who’s going to replace them?” he asked.   

Meaker said his company sought to replace an engineer who is retiring in April. Thirty people applied for the position, but only three candidates were qualified for the job. Recruiting qualified workers may be difficult for several reasons, he said.

Some high-profile celebrities strongly oppose the use of hydropower because of its impact on the environment. Such social stigma could make it difficult to attract new talent. In addition, training opportunities specific to hydropower are sparse.

But the industry is beginning to form partnerships with universities and other organizations that are designed to tap the nation’s pool of talented younger workers.

Barbara Hins-Turner, executive director of the Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy at Centralia College, works with Washington State’s 20 community colleges to find hydropower jobs for graduating students. The program has an 85-percent success rate in placing students in jobs at hydropower facilities throughout the Pacific Northwest, Hins-Turner said. 

“These are real students placed into real jobs,” she said.

The Hydro Research Foundation’s Hydro Fellowship Program is another new effort designed to steer students toward a career in the hydropower industry. The fellowships are funded by a $3 million, four-year grant from the Department of Energy’s Wind and Waterpower Technologies Program.

Nine fellowships were awarded last year. Another 18 fellowships will be awarded in April, said Deborah Linke, director of the fellowship program.

“We’re investing approximately $55,000 a year in each student,” Linke said. “So it’s important, if at all possible, to keep them within the hydropower family.”

Each student is paired with a mentor from the industry. “The next step is to develop career opportunities for these students as they graduate,” Linke said.

A career in hydropower shouldn’t be difficult to sell to the next generation of workers, Linke said.

“Hydro is green again and maybe a little sexy,” she said. “I think most students coming into hydropower really see it as a green industry. They see its role in supporting other renewables and they’re excited about being a part of that.”   

Born in 1979, Katie Clarkson is a member of Generation X who found her career in the hydropower industry through an internship at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). She is now a civil engineer and a project review officer for FERC’s Division of Dam Safety.

“I never envisioned a career in the hydropower industry,” Clarkson said. “It wasn’t even on my radar.”

She applied for an internship at FERC and was accepted.

“After four months, I learned that it was a very interesting industry and I enjoyed my experience in working for a regulatory agency,” Clarkson said. “Never underestimate the power of an old-fashion internship. It’s a great way for prospective employees to evaluate your organization and it’s a great way for companies to evaluate prospective employees.”  

Russell Ray is senior editor of Hydro Review magazine. Russell has 11 years experience as an energy journalist, covering the oil and gas industry in Oklahoma and the growth of solar and nuclear power in Florida. He served eight years as the energy reporter for the Tulsa World. He held the same position at the Tampa Tribune for two and a half years before joining Hydro Review in 2009.