National Lineworker Appreciation Day
By Garrett Hylton
Each April, we celebrate the people who are so vital to making sure the lights come on every time we flip the switch: our lineworkers. This year, National Lineworker Appreciation Day is April 11, giving us an opportunity to thank our lineworkers for their dedication to safety and training and their willingness to brave the elements when necessary to keep the power flowing. At Wells Rural Electric Company (WREC), we’re reminded of the value of lineworkers every day. WREC is fortunate to employ a group of lineworkers and electricians who are highly trained and among the best you’ll find at what they do.
You’ve probably seen WREC’s trucks out working in the community where you live. You may have even had a kid coached by one of the lineworkers in their spare time or served on one of the many boards or activities they help with throughout the year. However, our lineworkers should perhaps be most appreciated for the work they do when nobody is watching. While there’s never a good time for the power to be out, most outages are caused by storms and conditions that make it least convenient to be without electricity.
We had several reminders of that throughout WREC’s service territory this winter. While WREC’s system held up extremely well to the ice, wind, and cold that typically wreak so much havoc, there were a few outages caused by the weather. When the power goes out and the temperature drops and the wind whips so hard you can’t tell which direction the snow is actually coming from, WREC members can rest a little easier knowing that somewhere nearby, probably in their own community, a lineworker is bundling up, lacing boots and getting ready to leave their family to go out into that storm and spend as long as it takes to restore power in hopes that neighbors will wake up to a warm house and a hot cup of coffee. April 11 is a great opportunity to appreciate our lineworkers for all the work that goes into their craft. They earn that praise 365 days a year.
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- Many of WREC’s lineworkers devote time to improve their communities. Lineman Jake Wines staffs a booth at a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Fair for local students in Carlin.
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- WREC’s lineworkers maintain more than 1,400 miles of energized line that stretches through 10,000 square miles of service territory, much of it against the backdrop of northern Nevada’s beautiful mountains.
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- WREC’s line crews swap out a transformer in Wells.
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- Lineman Chris Duffy offers a wave while in the field.
