Hydro tries to find linesmen

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (NL Hydro) is having difficulty filling positions on the Northern Peninsula and in Southern Labrador.

There are currently two line crew positions open in Roddickton, one having been vacant since August 2007 and the other since August 2008 after the workers relocated to another area of the province.

The issue resurfaced when a string of fires hit Englee last month, forcing a linesman to travel two hours from St. Anthony to shut off the electricity.

"Turning off our electricity is a major problem with fires, and when you got to wait for somebody to come from Port Saunders or St. Anthony, 140 kilometres is too far," Englee Mayor Rudy Porter said.

A meeting between councils in the area and NL Hydro's regional manager, who is based in Port Saunders, was scheduled last month to discuss the difficulties of recruiting a journeyman and possible avenues.

The meeting was cancelled and has yet to be rescheduled.

"I don't know what that was all about. But we were supposed to have a meeting - I don't know if they had good news or bad news or what, I have no idea, I'm only surmising that," Mayor Porter said.

In the meantime, the Englee council suggests looking longer term, going so far as to look in high schools and provide training or financial incentives.

"We suggested that even if they go into the local school, even to get somebody from high school, because if somebody wanted to remain here, it's a long-term job, it'd take four or five years for them to get there, but it would solve the problem for the long-term," Mr. Porter said.

NL Hydro said there is a wider trend to the issue of attracting workers to rural Newfoundland and Labrador.

"The problem with filling technical positions in rural and remote Newfoundland and Labrador is not unique to NL Hydro," a spokesperson for the company said. "It is also not unique to the community of Roddickton. Hydro is also having some difficulty filling technical and specialized positions in the communities of Mary's Harbour, Springdale and other rural parts of the province."

Last March NL Hydro got a nibble for one of the Roddickton positions, but prior to moving to the area from outside the province, the person hired declined the position.

The company has advertised in local, provincial and even national newspapers, posted job applications on its website and job websites, as well as talking with other utility companies to learn about things they are doing to recruit workers to remote locations.

NL Hydro said it maintains a high-level of safe and reliable service to its customers in the area, which continues to remain a priority.