Coal yard workers wrap up operations at Plant Watson

These days, the break room at Plant Watson’s coal yard is fairly quiet, except for conversation from the four- man crew that’s on duty. Leroy Agee, Kenny Bertucci, Timmy Cannette, and Tommy Cullinan make up one of the last two crews working to push the final loads of coal into the plant’s generating system.

“It’s a lot quieter down here now,” said Cannette, who has been with Mississippi Power for 33 years. “I’d stay here if they’d let me. In the past we used to work 16- hour days if the coal pile got this low. We made sure the plant was running.”

Now the pile, which once stood five stories high, is just a layer of coal covering the ground.

“We’ve seen a lot of changes here,” said 31-year company veteran Agee. “One of the most important jobs we had was separating the different types of coal.”

Pushing the remaining coal into the chutes is phase two of the full conversion process at Plant Watson to natural gas. Phase one occurred back in late February when the last coal barge delivered its cargo to the plant. Soon these and other coal yard workers will transition to working on preventative maintenance at Plant Watson.

While it may seem like a dirty and sometimes monotonous job, Bertucci said he’ll definitely miss it.
“I’ll certainly miss the free meals,” Bertucci joked. “We worked through all the holidays to make sure the plant was running. I’ll miss the day-to-day schedule.”

Cullinan says his work in the coal yard helped pay for his children’s masters degrees. While the tough work certainly helped pay the bills, it also meant things were running smoothly at the plant.

“We have a great view out here,” Cannette added. “Watching the barges come in at the dock, working near the water, and watching the sun come up.”