National Lineman Appreciation Day is held on the second Monday in April each year. It is a day set aside to show appreciation for their work and all they do to keep the lights on for cooperative members. 

“Our lineworkers are an important part of our overall employee team,” North Central Electric General Manager Markus Bryant said. “They are essential to keeping the lights on. Without a well-maintained system, we do not have reliable electric service.” 

“One of the most important parts of my job is to come out after hours for a storm or other outage, or even a car wreck or any emergency, and to be there to turn off the power in the case of a fire or to turn the power back on as quickly and safely as possible for our members,” eight-year Lineman Chad Burger said.

“The members look to you as a lineman at the co-op as someone on their side. And we are on their side,” Burger continued. “Everything we do is ultimately for them as part of the team.”

Compared to statistics for the other Ohio cooperatives, North Central consistently ranks among the top 25 percent in terms of the least number of outage hours per year. Reliable service can be attributed to dedicated line crews committed to a strong and aggressive maintenance program. Plus, there’s a willingness to work in adverse weather conditions, from stifling heat to high winds to bitter cold and blustery winter weather.

“The worst situation we’ve had was the 2005 ice storm, where they worked not only under icy conditions and low temperatures, but also for very long hours at a time,” Bryant said.

“One of the hardest parts of my job is making sure everyone is staying safe and always being away of what’s going on,” Lineman Apprentice Aaron Lindsey said. He started five years ago as the cooperative’s mechanic/warehouseman and then transferred into the line department. “It only takes a split second for something to go wrong. It’s important to keep everyone safe, not just yourself.”

“It could be a pole right out by the road, but if it’s a hot pole with wires everywhere and cutting jumpers in or ‘macking out line,’ that can cause challenges as well,” Burger said. “Working energized lines and climbing are the two hardest parts.”

Sixteen-year Lineman Mike Stahl also likes the challenge. “I like running outages, coming in on call and troubleshooting. I guess when it’s 2 in the morning and 20 below, I like going out to turn the power back on for people,” Stahl said. “I enjoy doing it!”

As part of the linemen’s training, safety is emphasized. It’s actually one of the key cornerstones of the working culture at North Central that starts at the top with the board of trustees. The poster in the linemen’s lounge clearly states the goal of each lineworker: “We work safely for our members and our families. Going home at the end of the day — priceless!” The poster shows a toddler in a lineman’s tool bag.  

“The members probably don’t understand how dangerous the power lines are and how close we are to it,” Lindsey said. “They should stay as far away as they can, and we try to protect them as much as we can.” 

In terms of lineman training, they participate in a structured four-year apprenticeship program. They attend the lineman training school in Columbus, Ohio, where they cover pole-climbing skills, construction of overhead and underground line, operation of digger derricks and bucket trucks, and transformers and other electric utility apparatus functions, and they learn how to safely use tools of the trade along with other related safety and technical aspects. 

“One of the other measures of the importance of our line crews is our overall member satisfaction numbers. We are ranked very high by our members for both reliability of service as well as affordable rates. Their ability to keep the lights on reflects their hard work,” Bryant said. “We have here at the cooperative a well-engineered and well-maintained system. I think our members appreciate that, which is why they consistently give us high satisfaction scores.”

“I would like to say ‘thank you’ to our linemen for their hard work and dedication. On behalf of the board of trustees, the members, and myself, I want to extend our sincere appreciation for everything they do to keep the lights on for our members,” Bryant said. “And they do it by working safely at the same time.”