75 Percent of Employees Come from Westmoreland, Adjacent Counties
SMITHTON, Pennsylvania – Hiring for operations jobs at Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station is now complete, with 75 percent of employees coming from Westmoreland County or adjacent counties.
“One of our goals in staffing this plant was to hire qualified employees from the local community as much as possible,” said Todd Jonas, Tenaska senior vice president, operations & asset management. “I’m proud to say we achieved that goal and, in the process, assembled an experienced team of employees that will be able to continue Tenaska’s record of safe and reliable plant operations.”
Last fall, Tenaska announced the hiring of Plant Manager Robert Mayfield, who had been the long-time plant manager of another Tenaska facility. The announcement was followed by a phased hiring process that first included management positions at the plant in December, then hourly employees in the first few months of 2018.
Total staffing for the plant is 24 employees. Two employees are residents of Smithton Borough, where the plant is located. Eleven come from Westmoreland County and seven from Allegheny or Fayette counties. Four transferred from other Tenaska plants.
“Our team is eager to get to work,” Mayfield said. “Over the next several months, we will be going through specialized training and preparing for the plant to start operating at full capacity later this year.”
Construction of Tenaska Westmoreland – a clean-burning natural gas-fueled power plant project – began in 2016. Located in South Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, the facility is anticipated to begin operations in December of this year. It will be able to provide enough power for about 925,000 homes in the PJM Interconnection market, which coordinates the delivery of reliable power in all or parts of 13 eastern states, including Pennsylvania, and the District of Columbia.
Construction continues to boost the local economy, with direct construction costs of more than $500 million. In addition to 650 jobs during peak construction, the project has contracted with more than 100 regional businesses.
Once operational, the plant will contribute millions of dollars in tax revenue through its lifetime.
Tenaska Westmoreland is owned by Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners, LLC, which is comprised of affiliates of Tenaska, Diamond Generating Corporation and J-POWER USA Investment Co., Ltd.
Additional information about the Tenaska Westmoreland project is available at www.TenaskaWestmoreland.com.
About Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners, LLC
Tenaska, an energy company based in Omaha, Nebraska, formed Tenaska Pennsylvania Partners, LLC to build, own and operate the Tenaska Westmoreland Generating Station. An affiliate of Tenaska serves as the managing partner. For more information, visit www.tenaskawestmoreland.com.
Media Contacts
Timberly Ross
Office: 402-691-9517
Mobile: 402-669-4073
tross@tenaska.com