Officials recognize the ‘heroic’ efforts of these sometimes-overlooked workers

They are the people who are out in the cold, rain, ice, snow and wind after a storm who are making sure everyone has power to keep their lights and other appliances on.

Thursday marked the annual National Lineman Appreciation Day at Monroe Community Park, where Duke Energy linemen were recognized as being the unsung heroes and first responders in the community when the power goes out. They were recognized for their critical work as they climb power poles or are working off ladders or elevated bucket trucks during and after storms when the power goes out locally or elsewhere in the nation, officials said.

Tim Abbott, manager of government and community relations, said Duke Energy linemen enjoy and appreciate the working relationship with Monroe’s police and fire departments, adding they work “hand in hand” with Monroe’s first responders.

“These linemen do heroic work everyday,” Abbott said.

During the event, about two dozen linemen attended with their vehicles and displayed a large American flag between two bucket trucks.

Luis Amaya, who supervises area electrical linemen, knows how tough the job can be locally and when local crews get deployed to assist other utility companies elsewhere in the nation when power goes out following a severe weather event.

He and several other local Duke Energy linemen spent 54 days in mountainous conditions helping Puerto Rico restore its power grid following Hurricane Maria in 2017.

“What this means to us is for all of our linemen to go home safely every day by providing all of our customers in our system with a safe way of getting power to them daily, keeping the lights on and making them happy,” Amaya said.

Senior lineman Brian Jackson said he was an electrician who worked in construction before joining his brother, who was working as a Duke Energy lineman.

“I really like helping the community,” Jackson said. “Usually you see during the day driving around during the daylight, but most of the time we’re working at night in the storm when you don’t see us and your lights are out.”

Duke Energy spokesman Lee Freedman said the Ohio operation employs about 250 line technicians, which includes two women.

Freedman said Duke Energy delivers electricity to about 710,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in parts of 10 counties in its 2,300-square-mile service territory. He also said Duke Energy owns and operates about 14,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines, including about 4,000 miles of underground lines.


By the Numbers

  • 115,000 - The number of linemen working in the U.S. keeping the power on.
  • 155 milllion - The estimated number of electric customers across the nation.
  • 9 million - The number of miles of wire in service in the U.S.
  • 170 million - The number of wood powere poles in the U.S.
  • 2.7 million - The number of transmission towers in service in the U.S.

SOURCE: linemanappreciationday.com

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