An electrical contractor Headquartered in Libertyville, Ill., since 1952 (and in existence since 1932), Aldridge Electric Inc. addresses complex and challenging projects in the transportation, power, utility and industrial...
In 2019, Tamara Clayton was fatally shot while driving home from work on a Chicago expressway. Her death, and other shootings in Illinois, prompted passage of the state’s Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act. The act resulted...
Line work requires specialized tools. Because it involves rigging, working at heights, working while exposed to high voltage and electrical arc hazards, the tools lineworkers use are made by specialty manufacturers and are...
April 18 is National Lineman Appreciation Day, which is a time to “recognize the hard-working men and women who keep the lights on.” “No matter the weather, time of day or best made plans, these professionals answer the call...
On Aug. 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida bore down on Louisiana with intense Category 4 strength, officially becoming the second-most damaging hurricane to make landfall in Louisiana—coincidentally, 16 years to the day after the area...
Vegetation such as trees, shrubs, vines and brush can create serious safety hazards and costly repairs for utility companies when overgrowth encroaches on power lines or energized equipment. When vegetation grows onto live...
The National Electrical Safety Code and National Electrical Code are similar in their overall purpose and safe electrical installations. They also overlap in some respects as applied to properties and premises wiring systems...
While contractors are seeing an unprecedented rise in line work this year, training programs are ramping up to attract and train high-quality recruits to support the growing number of projects. Contractors, utilities and line...
In mountainous terrain inhabited by bears and moose, and sparsely populated by humans, electric utilities of varying sizes operate with a patchwork of hydropower, natural gas and diesel-powered generation. Extreme weather...
There have been many changes and new challenges in ensuring line contractors perform their work safely, but Matthew C. Compher is up to the task. Compher, vice president of safety, health, environmental and quality at Houston...
In July 2021, the Holland Board of Public Works (HBPW) in Michigan announced that its newest utility truck was going to be a hybrid vehicle, which is cleaner, quieter and less expensive to maintain than traditional utility...
Aging infrastructure, increasing demands for electricity and the transition to renewable energy are fueling contracts for substation work. Those factors are also driving the need to keep training lineworkers, who as...
Every work day on U.S. construction sites, there are more than 1,100 incidents that damage underground utilities, according to Common Ground Alliance’s (CGA) 2019 Damage Information Reporting Tool (DIRT), released in October...
We asked experts to explain the different skills and interests needed to work successfully in transmission, distribution and substations. Steven Kunsman, vice president and general manager of substation automation for North...
In 2017, Heather Escalante’s husband Chris, a traveling apprentice, fell 35 feet on the job. He injured his hip and wrist and sustained a traumatic brain injury. The doctors informed him that it may take years for him to...
Hurricane Ida made landfall Aug. 29, 2021, at 11:55 a.m. CDT as an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane near Port Fourchon, La., with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Preliminary reports from NASA suggest that the...
Bushhogging, seeding and herbicides are all methods to control undesirable vegetation and ensure safe, reliable electricity transmission. Vegetation along high-voltage transmission corridors and local distribution systems...
As one of seven NECA chapters focused on outside electrical construction, American Line Builders (ALB) represents 41 electrical contractors in the District of Columbia, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio...
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the incidence rate per 10,000 full-time workers for occupational injuries and illnesses from ice-, sleet- and snow-related events in 2017 was 1.8...
Deborah Kelly, a former line constructor in Alaska, loved her work. Until recently, she climbed utility poles with a mostly male crew, doing the heavy work of outdoor line construction and repair in all weather. She couldn’t...
