Eight months ago, the sweep of human history shifted, and there are thousands of troubling stories of COVID-19′s impact. But amid the tragedy and adaptation, constructive partnerships have allowed Georgia’s largest construction project to continue. We — a labor leader and the chairman of Georgia Public Service Commission — have witnessed what it takes to keep a critical energy infrastructure project moving forward in the wake of a global pandemic.

A little history is worth reviewing. More than a decade ago and for a number of reasons — including diversifying Georgia’s fuel mix, reducing dependence on natural gas and coal, and to pair our state’s growing renewable energy with a 24/7 availability form of generation — the PSC approved the construction of new nuclear generation for our state’s economic future. If you followed the blackout news from California of late, we suspect they wish they had had similar foresight.

The PSC’s approval meant that in partnership with craft labor, Georgia Power and the other project owners, our state undertook the most complicated and expensive mega-construction project in Georgia’s history. But at the beginning of 2020, a pandemic intervened.

As we have all learned, there is no playbook for pandemics. As the implications of employee infections on Plant Vogtle became apparent, in consultation with the commission, the managers of the construction project and craft labor leadership instituted numerous, aggressive provisions in the interest of protecting workers. In March, Sean McGarvey, North America’s Building Trades Unions’ president, emphasized what we all believe that the “health and safety of our members and their families is always job number one.” Additionally, to ensure the energy systems that keep the economy operating continued to function, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency declared workers “who maintain, ensure or restore the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power” essential workers. Therefore, extraordinary steps had to be undertaken.

In addition to the establishment of a 24/7 comprehensive medical testing and treatment village, staffed with medical professionals who can administer tests for illnesses such as flu, strep and COVID-19, the following were implemented:

comprehensively promoting prevention guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such as social distancing

staggering break times

canceling large in-person meetings and instituting no-touch sign-out

suspending buses and trams onsite 

implementing aggressive cleaning practices

distributing more than 30,000 pieces of protective equipment

reducing crew sizes to three people, along with strategic reductions in the total workforce

retaining three on-site nurse practitioners, with a supervising physician, along with continuous consultation with a South Carolina-based epidemiologist.

So, what has been the result of this remarkable partnership? While there have been rises and falls in the number of cases of COVID-19 at the site, the infection rates mimic and trend with the surrounding communities in which workers live.

A modern society depends on energy in ways that most don’t have to contemplate. Always “on” is essential. We’ve built a reliable grid, which has helped make Georgia an economic beacon to the world. The mutual respect and common goals of worker safety, and continuance of construction at Vogtle, have led to a partnership between craft labor, the commission and the companies overseeing the project.

Current number of COVID-19 infections among the approximately 8,000 employees onsite is just more than 70 cases and falling. Thousands of industrious workers have stayed off unemployment ranks and have continued to know the dignity of providing for their families. And Georgia’s energy future is bright, with fuel load of the first unit scheduled for this December.

These successes owe to partnerships of many, but mainly to the workers who every day and night are safely building Plant Vogtle.

The writers are, respectively, the chairman of the Public Service Commission; and the president of Georgia Building Trades.