By Aaron Lynn
Linemen are ranked as 1 of the 10 most dangerous jobs in the country. The linemen at Valley Electric work rain or shine, in often challenging conditions to ensure you have reliable electricity. We’re celebrating National Linemen Appreciation Day on April 18, 2024. The following column was written by Aaron Lynn, 1 of our many dedicated linemen.
My name is Aaron Lynn, and I’m 1 of the 25 linemen at Valley Electric Association who work any time of the day and in all weather conditions to make sure our community has the power to live their lives. I love my job. It’s hard work, but it’s very rewarding. I hope this will give you a better look into what we face and, more importantly, why we do it.
The Danger
A lot of people know linework is dangerous because we work near high-voltage electricity. Move just the wrong way or lose focus for a split second, and it could be deadly. You have to be aware of your surroundings and the safety of the person next to you. We often work on energized power lines, and you can’t always tell they are energized just by looking at them. You’re working with an element of danger that requires concentration, and there is no margin for error. The environment compounds the pressure, because when you need power most is usually when the weather is worst. We often work in storms with rain, wind, extreme heat and cold, in the dark, or on the side of the road next to fast-moving traffic. Yes, it’s dangerous, but that’s what we’re trained to do.
Many may not realize it, but we undergo years of training before we can officially be called a journeyman lineman. We typically start as a ground person, helping crews with tools and keeping job sites safe, and then we transition to apprentice status, which typically spans 4 years. After an apprenticeship, with more than 7,000 hours of training under our belts, we transition to journeyman lineman status––that’s when we’re considered officially trained in our field.
But the education is ongoing. Linemen continuously receive training to stay mindful of safety requirements and up-to-date on the latest equipment and procedures.
The Physical Demand
The daily expectations of a lineman are physically demanding, but you won’t hear any of us complain about that. I know what I signed up for—loading heavy materials, climbing poles, and in and out of buckets. We often go places the trucks can’t, so we might be hiking up mountains loaded with forty pounds of personal protective equipment. But that’s the job and most of us are glad to be outside.
The Sacrifices
There are some sacrifices to being a lineworker. I’m often first on the scene of an emergency, seeing things that are devastating like car accidents, structure fires, and damage from severe storms. You don’t know what type of situation you’re going to face or when you’re going to face it. We get calls all hours of the day, including in the middle of the night. I’ve missed a lot of football games and family dinners, but my family is very supportive, and they understand the importance of the work I do. We make sure there is nothing standing in the way of helping our friends and neighbors get back to normal life.
It’s Worth It
1 thing that makes this job worthwhile is the camaraderie. My co-op is my second family, and the linemen here are a brotherhood. In this work, you have to depend on the person beside you in life-or-death circumstances. It’s a culture of trust, teamwork, and service. It’s all about keeping the teammate beside you safe and the lights on for everyone else.
I have a lot of pride in my work. Even when it’s cold and wet or extremely hot, I know I’m working to keep people comfortable. There’s a lot of satisfaction in hearing someone yell “Thank you” from the window after the lights come back on or seeing people flipping the light switches on their porches after an outage is restored. No matter how tired I am or how long I’ve been working, that feeling always makes it worth it.
Valley Electric and its employees are members of this community. We live in the same neighborhoods. We shop at the same stores. Our kids go to the same schools. If your lights are off, there is a good chance ours are off too. So, you can trust that we are doing our best to get the lights back on as quickly and safely as possible–– so we all can get back to normal life.