| Lessons learned


Council says hydropower in Australia can continue to create thousands of jobs today, while underpinning the reliability of the grid for generations to come.


Urgency to meet targets A strong sense of urgency was shared by more than


300 participants at the 2021 Canadian Waterpower Week, hosted by national trade association WaterPower Canada during October. “We’ve got less than a decade now to meet ambitious and essential emissions reduction targets, and our industry is ready to play what can only be an instrumental role,” says Anne-Raphaëlle Audouin, President and CEO of WaterPower Canada. “But what the conference also highlighted is the need to move from targets to action.” “The world needs an accelerated energy transition going forward, and hydropower has to play a key role,” agrees Dolf Gielen, Director of Innovation and Technology at the International Renewable Energy Agency. “We need new hydropower capacity, but also we need modernising and upgrading of the existing hydropower capacity. Flexibility and storage systems of hydropower can complement solar and wind going forward, and sustainability of hydropower is key in this development.”


“At Statkraft, we have been doing hydropower for the past 100 years. Given the energy transition, in addition to new renewables, we have to look into the existing fleet, and look into hydropower that will play a big role in the market of supplying zero emission generation and power going forward,” says Hilde Bakken from Statkraft. “Another big responsibility is making sure that we are developing transmission across. I think it’s important for policymakers not to become too national because then you’re not solving the problem.” “It’s interesting when you look at the role that hydro


historically has played. Certainly, in Ontario hydro is synonymous with electricity,” adds Nicolle Butcher, Senior Vice President of Renewable Generation and Power Marketing at Ontario Power Generation. “That legacy is what we need to build upon. There are really three elements that we’re working on at OPG. That’s maintaining our current assets, so how to refurbish them in a way that allows us to ensure that they’re going to be there for the next 100 years. The second thing we’re working on is highlighting the expansion of hydro, so how can hydro help from a storage perspective, or how does hydrogen play with hydro. And then finally building new. So whether it’s completely redeveloping some of our old sites, or building new greenfield sites. Those are critical elements that we’re going to develop more in the coming decades to be able to address climate change.”


Diversity


Michelle Branigan, CEO at Electricity Human Resources Canada is keen for the water industry to learn about and help overcome the main barriers to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). “They are more than HR buzzwords,” she says.


“They’re essential policies for the long-term health of any professional organisation, including waterpower utilities and their suppliers.” Many industries, including hydropower and the electricity space, haven’t really kept pace with


Left: Diversity, equity and inclusion are considered to be crucial to the future of the hydropower industry


www.waterpowermagazine.com | December 2021 | 27


demographic changes across Canada. Historically, Branigan says that the electricity industry has long been very male dominated and very slow to embrace change. Research undertaken in DEI “tells us barriers to entry for under-represented groups are still alive and well in this industry”. It’s starting to get a bit better but there is still a lot to do that will require effort Women only represent 26% of the electricity sector in Canada. In the trades this drops to under seven per cent, and even in senior leadership positions only 25% of roles are taken by women. Indigenous people working in the electricity sector hovers at just over four per cent, and a high concentration of that is in the trades. People with disabilities are less than three per cent of the workforce, and only 15% of the electricity industry is internationally trained workers, compared to 25% for all other industries.


Branigan says it’s the same for visible minorities —


really low numbers which haven’t changed much over the last decade.


So, what kinds of barriers do under-represented


groups face? ● Barriers on the retention side can be structural, within the organisation, or social (inequitable pay compensation is one example).


● Barriers to entry can occur right at the job interview. Unconscious bias can lead to hires that reflect the makeup of the hiring committee, rather than a candidate that has been evaluated and hired solely on their skills and competencies.


● Language can be a barrier as well, when job descriptions are outdated and list requirements that really are not essential to the job, such as a driver’s licence. That could be one barrier for Indigenous people in remote regions who have never had to obtain a licence.


● Perception is important and there are still many communications barriers. If somebody looks at a company website or annual report and doesn’t see anybody who looks like them, they’re extremely unlikely to see themselves having a successful career in that organisation.


● Education and the ability to access career information can be another barrier. A lot of the utilities are working with high schools and even elementary schools to try and build career awareness amongst young people so they are aware of the possibilities out there that exist. And that must include messaging that says everyone is welcome.


It is really important that companies adopt formal policies and practices directly aimed at measuring the impact of the approaches they’re taking to developing DEI. There has to be disclosure and reporting that establish clear metrics to measure progress over time. f


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