Do you ever wonder who fixes the power lines on the side of the road and maintains our homes’ power? That would be our local linemen. They fix our power and make sure it’s off when weather conditions are harsh in order to stop downed wires from electrocuting people. These linemen work tireless hours on end just to keep us safe and our power running.

There are hundreds of powerline companies, with a couple of the big companies that work with our power being HotLine, PG&E, and Edison.

Throughout the year, companies will have Lineman Rodeos where a bunch of the company’s lineman go to a training site. The company picks three men to represent them. All of the companies compete to see who is the fastest in that specific area. Once a year, there is a national Lineman Rodeo where linemen from all over America come and compete. The last one, in 2023, was held in Kansas City, Missouri.

Aside from the fun rodeos, their work is very hard to do and is very dangerous. Jacob Milhoan, a HotLine Manager, said, “Linemen are trained to work in [these] harsh conditions. Rain, sun, or storm, they are on the job.”

According to Milhoan, linemen have to replace active power lines, make sure equipment is stable to use, and even get to fly helicopters to get a new pole where it needs to be and install it. These men have to work with active electricity at various heights.

Sometimes these workers have to put their lives on the line in harsh conditions while still doing their job fast and as accurately as possible to keep their community safe.