By Dallas Braun, General Manager
April 18 is National Lineworker Appreciation Day—a day set aside to express gratitude to the approximately 120,000 lineworkers across the nation who keep the lights on for everyone. Lineworkers across the country truly deserve this special day of recognition. TEC would like to recognize and thank the 11 lineworkers who take care of TEC’s electric system.
Most people take for granted what it takes to provide a safe and reliable electric grid. The grid consists of everything needed to get power from a generating plant to the meter on your home. At TEC, this includes 16 substations interconnected by 140 miles of transmission lines, 2,150 miles of distribution lines, and over 12,300 meters providing electric service in the three-county area of the Thumb.
Being a lineworker is not a glamorous or easy job. It takes years of specialized training, ongoing education, dedication, and, equally important, a sense of service and commitment. It is also an inherently dangerous profession. Lineworkers are required to work near high-voltage lines and climb electric poles that can reach over 80 feet in the air. They often have to do it during severe weather, to make matters worse. High winds and extreme cold can make life very difficult for line crews, but our lineworkers’ commitment to safety should not be overlooked.
Oct. 30, 2021, marked three years without a lost-time incident, and TEC would like to recognize the extra measures our crews have taken to remain safe.
In addition to being dangerous, the profession of a lineworker is also a substantial time commitment. You probably figured that being a lineworker is not a typical 9-to-5 job, but did you know they sometimes sacrifice their weekends, family time, and even holidays to keep the lights on? During major outages, our lineworkers might even have to work around the clock to restore power to our members. Occasionally, TEC crew members will even travel hours to other electric utilities in the state that need a helping hand with their outages.
So, the next time you see a TEC lineworker (seen on the back cover), feel free to thank them for keeping the lights on.
