Thank a lineman

Posted: April 18, 2019 at 9:00 am

April 18 is National Lineman Appreciation Day. This day is set aside for all Americans to express appreciation to the great men and women who work hard for us every day who keep the power on and protect our safety.

Were it not for the daily efforts of the approximately 227,000 linemen across the country, we would not be able to enjoy the conveniences of modern life we have come to expect through the years.

We count on electrical power being when we need it. Because linemen do their jobs so well, we often take it for granted that our homes will be heated and cooled, the lights will come on, and our entertainment devices like our TVs, computers, and cellphones will always be powered up and ready.

Even when we are away from home, we may not always realize how much we depend on linemen. Traffic lights, gas pumps, airports, and store refrigerators all require electricity. When the power goes out, life becomes much more difficult.

The daily life of a lineworker

As linemen work daily to maintain the power grid, they are typically working 30 to 40 feet in the air while handling wire energized with more than 12,000 volts—1,000 times more voltage than your car battery.

One false move can instantly kill. And linemen are required to all kinds of weather. In the Spokane Valley, our linemen work through blistering heat waves, winter blizzards, ice storms and anything else mother nature sends their way while wearing full arc-flash protective gear. Working conditions rarely comfortable.

If that wasn’t tough enough, lineworkers often are called on to repair storm damage in the middle of the night while the storm is still rolling through the area. These professionals work tirelessly to put the systems back in working order to restore your service.

This requires them to do their jobs under some of the most dangerous conditions while dealing with darkness and severe weather. However, they don’t just wait out the storm or for the dawn. This all happens while most of us are unaware soundly asleep in our beds.

Vera Water and Power Crew

In the Spokane Valley, the Vera Water and Power linemen are well-known for their hard work and rapid response to downed line and power outages. In most cases, we restore power outages in less than an hour. We are fortunate that our district office, crew and pole yard are located just minutes from most of our customers. And that means we can begin service restoration very rapidly.

When disaster strikes, our line crews are the first responders who are out there in all kinds of conditions, day or night, to restore power and minimize the impact to our customers.