One of Stanwell’s longest serving employees, Russell Vorpagel, has officially hung up his hard hat at Tarong Power Station after 46 years serving Queensland’s energy industry.
The mechanical engineer, who grew up in the Lockyer Valley and first started his apprenticeship at Swanbank Power Station in 1979, was celebrated by all Tarong Power Station employees for a special send-off last week.
Vorpagel was Queensland’s Apprentice of the Year in 1982, studied a Bachelor of Engineering at QUT and was awarded the QUT Medal for Engineering for the highest GPA in his graduating class.
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He then worked on the construction of and at power stations across the state including Callide B, Stanwell and Gladstone Power Stations and in 1993 moved to the South Burnett to take on a role at Tarong Power Station.
During his time at Tarong, he worked his way up to Mechanical Engineering Superintendent, where he remained an integral employee to Stanwell’s operations until his recent retirement.
Vorpagel said he’s seen significant change in the energy industry during this long career including the establishment of the National Electricity Market, PPE standards and the rollout of renewable energy.
“When I first started at power stations, a lot of people still wore short sleeved shirts, shorts and long socks, so PPE standards have definitely improved,” he said.
“Other changes now include renewable energy and trying to reduce the carbon in the atmosphere. That will keep evolving and as things keep moving, you have to be prepared to move with them.
“The key thing that hasn’t changed though is making sure the power plants are able to generate energy safely and reliably and at a reasonable cost, which is critical in this industry.”
Throughout his career, Vorpagel has also been an inspiring mentor to those following in his footsteps, so much so, Stanwell named a scholarship after him.
“Stanwell as an organisation decided to have a scholarship for electrical and mechanical engineering students and I was very honoured to hear that the scholarship would be named in my name, it was a real honour to me,” he said.
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“I’ve had a long history of mentoring students and some of those students who I have mentored are now superintendents at power stations as well which is great to see them progress.”
Summing up his long career, ‘Vorpy’ as he’s well known at Tarong, said, “It’s been rewarding, it’s been interesting, and I’ve had some fun along the way”.
“It’s always been a bit of a family to me, I suppose it is for most people who have been here a long time,” he said.
