The construction manager from SCE&G says there are going to be jobs available during the construction of the two reactor units at the V.C. Summer site, and there are also different sources of funding to pay for the training that will be needed for these jobs.

Alan Torres, SCE&G’s construction manager for Unit 2 and 3 and Ralph Heath, the workforce development manager with the Shaw Construction Group, spoke at the Winnsboro Rotary Club this week.

Torres prefaced his talk with a timeline of events for the project.

He mentioned how SCE&G and Santee Cooper filed the combined Construction and Operating License in 2008. In late February of 2009 they received a notice to proceed from the South Carolina Public Service Commission.

“To get that notice to proceed, we had to prove a need and necessity to the PSC,” said Torres.

The approval from the PSC allows the utility to ask for incremental rate increases to pay for the V.C.Summer project. The rate increases are incremental, so there’s not a huge bill that comes due at the end of the construction.

For example, the increase in 2009 is 37 cents.

Torres pointed out that what he calls “vertical construction” can’t begin until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission grants the license. A decision on that is expected in July of 2011.

In the meantime, site preparation is going on, what Torres called pre-construction activity; preparing the site, doing any railroad relocation, setting up erosion control measures and site excavation.

“We have to prepare that site to be ready to receive that license in 2011,” he said.

Right now, SCE&G and Shaw are clearing the site. They will be relocating the railroad track and building a new bridge over Mayo Creek. The site will be ready to receive the first module of the plant in 2010.

If the license is not granted, then they will have to repair the site back to its pre-existing condition and refund any allocated funds that have been collected from the customers for the project.

“So, what’s happening today? If you live in the Jenkinsville area, in the next two weeks you’ll get a flyer, a community newsletter, in the mail.

“This is something that V.C. Summer vice president of nuclear operations Jeff Archie wanted to start doing (to keep the people in the Jenkinsville community informed,” Torres said.

The newsletter will provide more updates, as was requested by community members at a recent open house held at V.C. Summer’s Unit 1.

“We’re going to build a power plant, and everyone is concerned about what’s that going to do for the local community? Well, there are a couple of things it’s going to do for the local community. First, at the end of the project, the unit goes into the tax base. I’m sure everyone is familiar with the amount of money that Unit 1 brings into the tax base, somewhere about $19M a year. When we have two more units up there, you can imagine what the property tax influx is going to be.

“Second, will be the jobs created. We’re in the process of working with various programs, we’ve been working with the workforce development center here in Winnsboro, we’ve been working with Construction Training Center in Blair, we’ve been working with Midlands Tech and York Tech, all of these groups to put us in a position where we can send people there to get trained,” said Torres.

He mentioned the “downstream effect,” where other businesses in the community will have opportunities to provide materials and services because of the nuclear project, and that will mean those businesses will have more jobs to fill.

“The first unit of this project will come online in 2016. What does that mean? About 2013-2014, SCE&G will begin to hire permanent staff for the facility,” said Torres.

He said as the project begins to spool up they will be purchasing materials from nearby fabrication facilities, which could lead to more jobs available there as well.

“So how do we get these jobs to this community? Through training. Some people can walk off the streets and have experience and say they want a job. We ask them: What is your experience?

“We’re going to be in the process of staffing our construction organization, both for Shaw and SCE&G. There will be some jobs that will come available for that. These jobs are not the craft/labor jobs that most people are seeking.

“The message I want to bring is, if you’re not qualified for a job, but really want to work, in this newsletter, we’re telling you places to go to get training.

“There is also money available to fund training and re-training. If you’re a displaced employee, you may qualify for up to $8,000 to be re-trained,” he said.

“That’s not money out of your pocket. One of the constant complaints we hear is: ‘I want to come to work for you, but I don’t have the training, or I can’t pay for the training. Well, you don’t have to pay for the training; there’s funds available. So what we’re going to try and do is channel folks to those avenues,” he said.

Torres said it is important to SCE&G to get people in the community working. The newsletter provides some information. In addition, they will be going to the Jenkinsville and Winnsboro communities, Newberry and Irmo and setting up “town hall” style meetings in the next 30 and get out the same message.