Political leaders should look for effective solutions to help foster job transitions for displaced coal workers.
The notion that changes in the energy market that have led to the impending closure of coal generating plants can be reversed by adjustments in trade and environmental policy is likely wishful thinking that offers little more than false hope to the people and communities affected.
A coal-fired electrical generating plant just beyond the Utah-Arizona border announced it will close by the end of 2019, giving rise to worries over the loss of hundreds of jobs and threatening economic conditions on the Navajo Reservation, where the plant is located. The Navajo Generating Station is located in Arizona, but the Navajo Reservation also runs through southern San Juan County.
It’s a scenario that’s been playing out in all of the nation’s coal regions, but in the case of the Navajo station the threat is particularly distressing given the fact that the facility provides hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars in revenue to local Navajo and Hopi.
There’s not much else in the way of an economic driver in the rugged and remote stretches of the Navajo Reservation. When the plant closes, and the nearby coal mines that feed it either cut back or shut down, some 800 jobs will be lost. It will be a devastating blow to the native communities. In past years, more than a quarter of the tribe’s operating budget came from the local coal industry, including the generating station and the nearby Kayenta coal mine.
Those dependent on that industry are buoyed by promises of the Trump Administration to “bring back coal” by removing regulations that have stifled production. But in the case of the Navajo plant, customers are abandoning coal-fired electricity in favor of power generated by natural gas not because of regulatory burdens, but because gas is cheaper. Forecasts by energy experts say it will remain cheap in coming decades, and, it’s important to note, many efforts to remove regulations in the energy sector to benefit coal will likely also benefit natural gas.
The Navajo plant provides power for water pumping operations by the Central Arizona Project, and feeds the gluttonous energy appetites of Las Vegas and Southern California. Those customers are also slowly turning almost entirely to power sources other than coal, and that shift is unlikely to be halted by a change of attitude in the Oval Office.
For those who find themselves on shaky ground as employment in traditional mining and manufacturing jobs continue to dwindle, the future will depend not only on their own initiative finding new employment but also on policies that focus specifically on assisting displaced workers and their communities. And yet, finding policies that work is not easy.
The Obama Administration two years ago spent more than $75 million on re-training programs for laid-off coal miners. The effort had mixed results.
While 90 percent of participants found work after participating in a program at Hazard Community and Technical College in Kentucky, which retrained coal workers to become electrical linemen, according to a Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank report the workers came out making slightly more than half the average wage of a Kentucky-based coal miner.
Proponents of such programs argue, however, that a lower paying job is better than no job. Finding innovative ways to help displaced workers get back into employment is worthy of further consideration at both the local and federal levels. This is important not only for the Navajo Reservation but for countless coal communities throughout Utah and the nation.