The last dance

Those who work at the As Pontes Thermal Power Plant are very fond of it. It felt like a boat to us: you spend hours and hours to get it afloat, and it doesn't matter what it looks like or if there are things that don't work, because if you have to go and fix them on a cold winter Saturday or a hot Sunday, you will.

This attachment we have to it ended in shock. We were on an upward trajectory, assembling a 200 million euro plant with forecasts that we would not have viability problems until 2035, but times change and its profitability collapsed. Application for its closure was submitted on 27 December 2019, and we have been counting down ever since.

It is not, of course, a quick procedure. It's a slow process. And an uneasy, month by month, wait. The company, in fact, held group sessions so that we could work on accepting this unexpected outcome.

The plant's final day is approaching; we know this, and when it arrives we will have to say our goodbyes, move on and remember all the work well done.

Once the government authorises its closure, dismantling will begin, which can last about five years. At that stage, the As Pontes plant, Endesa's last operational thermal power plant in the Peninsula, will already be part of our past, a beautiful past, and a new life will begin.

Endesa has been facing the closure of its large mine in As Pontes since 2008, and I sincerely believe that it has shown sensitivity to the environment and its good work. A visit to the old hollow and mine dump in highly recommended, which has been turned into a magnificent lake and natural environment open to the public.

Social development

The human factor is what made this plant special, located in an area with an industrial tradition that dates back to the 40s, when Empresa Nacional Calvo Sotelo (ENCASO) used the coal from the mine for a small electricity generation of 32 MW and for the manufacture of fertilisers.

When Endesa built the As Pontes Thermal Power Plant, which absorbed Calvo Sotelo's manpower, the environment understood it as something positive. This acceptance has been closely related to the positive conditions created for local employment. The workers, who in addition to good salaries, were able to sign up their children to the apprentice school and enrol them at university with scholarships, really felt that they belonged.  

In short, the addition of the plant and the mine brought with it a lot of development: education, health... The town grew a great deal, and it now enjoys the amazing environmental restoration work of the mine.

Companionship

On the other hand, there has always been a lot of camaraderie at the plant, which also makes it very special for us. This site has always handled problems face on, without making a big deal about them and with an open communication. This really brings us together, generating complicity and friendships between people of very varied ages that is not so common in other areas of life.

It's an environment with team effort, a lot of communication and growth. With the change of going from a public to a private company, the work was also modernised towards a very agile and transparent style. With this, the staff has developed a vocation to be more open to challenges; that is, to dare to innovate, to try to be more self-sufficient, to think about the reason behind things.

In fact, the technical performance of the plant has always been very high, because the workers are people of great professional quality and technically very capable, and I'm talking about both the staff of Endesa and the companies that provide their service here. In that sense, this plant has also been fortunate to have established companies in the area that are a reference in their sectors and have also been vital in this success story, sharing knowledge and dedication.

Given the forecast of the closure of all its coal plants, Endesa carried out very serious work to assign us all new positions. Although unfortunately for some that implies moving geographically. We know that there is a search to develop assets in renewable energy generation in the area, and that thermal personnel are highly valued, so, if this is achieved, there would be opportunities for them to return. But we're also realistic, and it's a highly-competitive job.

Of the 174 self-employed workers that the plant had before the closure was announced, we have had many different workers depending on the state of exploitation of the plant. Many moved on to their new positions in growing activities, and others have become jacks of all trades. We have become more versatile, performing tasks that we did not have before, but we continue to focus on the important things, such as not having accidents, strictly complying with commitments to the environment and equipment being well maintained and monitored until the very last day.

So, between the workload and the expectation of closure, those of us who are left are trying to loosen the pressure by adding a good dose of humour to our meetings, to our one-on-ones. The rest of the old workforce stays in touch. There are many get togethers that have been on-hold due to the pandemic, but WhatsApp groups are still alive and we share the affection for the facilities and for everything we have lived together.

Futur-e

But little by little we are looking towards the future. One way to do this is to start looking at the future of the region, which has a great industrial vocation, with very good companies and workshops with electrical services, automations, mechanics, security, engineering, the environment, etc.

So we spent whole mornings showing our facilities to people from very different sectors and industries in search of proposals that enable economic development on the grounds of the thermal power plant. We are accompanied by representatives of Endesa's Futur-e project, whose objective is to mitigate the impact on the local population generated by the closure of plants such as As Pontes.

It's very interesting, because professionals from other fields come and tell us what they need and we, who know the plant like the back of our hand, look for what could serve them, what structures they could reuse. It is a future approach for this site and for the whole area.

It's about looking towards the future whilst the plant is still open, but already feeling nostalgia, mourning in advance... and a great memory of having been a part of this team.

Ignacio Sainz Romero

Head of the Thermal Power Plant and the Combined Cycle Power Plant of As Pontes.