NOVEC applauds linemen - the 7th most dangerous job!

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative is recognizing National Lineman Appreciation Day today, Monday, April 13, and thanking linemen for the work they do to keep electricity flowing to America’s homes, schools, and businesses, even in the worst kinds of weather.

The day falls soon after the regional Gaff-n-Go Lineman’s Rodeo on March 28 in Caroline County, Va., where NOVEC’s journeymen team placed first among 30 teams representing seven states, other electric cooperatives, municipal systems, and investor-owned utilities. 

A Forbes Aug. 22, 2013, article, “America’s 10 Deadliest Jobs,” recognized the dangers linemen face. It listed electrical power-line installers and repairers as having the seventh most dangerous job.

“Linemen are our first responders,” says Mason “Skip” Hollcroft, NOVEC manager of construction. “They go out in the worst storms to cut trees off power lines and make repairs to restore power to customers. They work with high-voltage wires and equipment precariously perched atop 40-foot poles. It takes years of training, as well as physical stamina and great focus to do what they do.”

Hollcroft recalls major storms that tested every fiber of utility linemen: “In the back-to-back snowstorms in February 2010, our men trudged through several feet of snow with biting blizzard winds in their faces to restore power to thousands of people. During the derecho storm in June 2012, line techs worked around the clock for five days wearing hot, heavy protective gear in 105 degrees to get air conditioners running again.”

Hollcroft notes how, when Hurricane Sandy was all trick and no treat right before Halloween in October, 2012, crews worked for days removing broken utility poles and erecting new ones, as well as repairing damage done by tree branches on power lines.

“When there’s a major storm, electric utilities pull together,” Hollcroft says. “For instance, in 2014 when an ice storm caught the Southeast by surprise, we sent crews to South Carolina to help restore power.”

NOVEC asks consumers to take a minute in April—or anytime—to post on http://www.facebook.com/novec a kind comment about the linemen who help to keep on their lights, computers, and appliances.