Line Life Podcast

Lineworkers and their loved ones came from all over the world to celebrate the line trade at the 40th anniversary of the International Lineman's Rodeo. While the competition is always the Super Bowl of the line trade, participants can enjoy several days of camaraderie and networking before the competition even begins on the Rodeo grounds. Every December, T&D World celebrates this event not onl...

As we continue airing new Faces of the Future podcast episodes in 2025, we are kicking off the New Year with an episode highlighting Lexie Bryant, apprentice lineworker for Omaha Public Power District (OPPD). Five years ago, she won the International Lineman's Rodeo Association's Jim Hamilton Scholarship, which was sponsored by Pacific Gas & Electric. Today, she works as an apprentice linework...

The International Lineman's Rodeo celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024 with more than 1,000 competitors. Listen to the narrated version of the article, "2024 Lineman's Rodeo Roundup" from the December 2024 print issue of T&D World magazine to hear all about the winners of the events across the apprentice and journeyman divisions. Congratulations to all the competitors, especially those who...

As LUMA Energy continues to improve resiliency and power reliability on the island of Puerto Rico, the utility is training new apprentices to work alongside its field workforce. In June 2021, Quanta Services Inc. and ATCO launched LUMA Energy through a joint venture. To train tomorrow's workforce and meet the need for more lineworkers, they later brought in a Department of Labor-registered apprent...

The final episode of 2024 highlights those who have given back to their communities. It begins with an interview with John Andrews of Prysmian, which donated $25,000 to Hurricane Helene relief efforts and sent a truck full of necessary supplies to help those affected by the hurricane in South Carolina. It also features a narrated version of an online article about how Ameren Illinois lineworkers s...

Part 2 of our series featuring guest Peter Fuhr of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory explores the drone research underway at ORNL. He shares the story about testing the technology at EPB in Tennessee and describes how the drones are not only capturing imagery but can also measure electromagnetic fields and the sounds of arcing. Through an ORNL research project called Autonomous Information Measure...

For our 2024 T&D World Lineworker Supplement, we featured the article, "Problem Solvers." To bring a narrated version of this article to life so our readers can listen to this story on the go, we are featuring it as a two-part audio story series for our Line Life Podcast on Podbean .  The first part highlighted Robert Seekell, who has seven patents; the lineworker who invented the Hook Holster...

For many years, electric utilities have used drones to inspect infrastructure and assess damage during storm response. Listen to this episode to hear Peter Fuhr, the technical director of the Unmanned Aerial Systems Research Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), discuss the latest research on drone technology and how it can help utilities to save time in the field, reduce truck rolls and...

The narrated version of the final article of the 2024 T&D World Lineworker Supplement, " Problem Solvers, " showcases former and current lineworkers and their inventions for the line trade. Part 1 highlights Robert Seekell, who holds seven U.S. patents for his products; James Coleman, owner of Pinnacle Power Services, who partners with his lineworkers on inventions through his design firm, Met...

For the Line Life Podcast, we are continuing our International Lineman's Rodeo Week series with a focus on Trade Night and the International Lineman's Rodeo. The night before the big competition, lineworkers and their families swap shirts and stories during the annual Trade Night and BBQ. The next morning, they head to Bonner Springs, Kansas, to compete in the pole climb, hurtman rescue and two my...

For our latest audio story in our ICYMI series, we are featuring a narrated version of the third article in the 2024 T&D World Lineworker Supplement, "Lineworkers to Leaders." This article explores how lineworkers can make the move from the field to the corporate world by owning their own companies or rising into executive management.  The story highlights Aaron Palmer of AMP Utility Company,...

The International Lineman's Expo brings vendors and lineworkers together on the show floor at the Overland Park Convention Center. Lineworkers can try out new tools and technologies and voice their opinions on what works and doesn't work regarding products for the line trade. For 2024, the event had a record number of exhibitors, which showcased everything from workwear and PPE to power tools and...

For the second part of the audio story, "Lighting the Way for the Line Trade," from the 2024 T&D World Lineworker Supplement, we are featuring more lineworkers who are making a difference in their communities. By listening to the episode, you can learn about Chad Dubea, the founder of the Fallen Linemen Organization, who was recently inducted into the National Lineman Hall of Fame. You can als...

Every year, the International Lineman's Rodeo Association (ILRA), in partnership with its sponsors, presents a free one-and-a-half day Lineman's Rodeo Safety and Training conference for attendees. This year, the speakers focused on the importance of staying hydrated, recognizing the dangers of heat stress and being situationally aware.    During this episode, you can hear from a few of the ILRA or...

For the first part of our audio story, "Lighting the Way for the Line Trade," in our ICYMI series, we are featuring two volunteer projects involving lineworkers: Light Up Navajo, sponsored by the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority and American Public Power Association, and the NRECA electrification project in Guatemala. By listening to this episode, you can hear how two lineworkers: Arthur William Mu...

Hurricane Helene hit the southeastern United States just two weeks before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida. For this special episode of the Line Life Podcast, listen to lineworkers and field managers for Duke Energy talk about the storm response in the Carolinas from working with helicopters to bringing in a mobile substation and providing power to a VA hospital.  For more information abo...

Tree crews often work alongside lineworkers, especially during storm response, when arborists clear the roads ahead of line crews. For a special episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast, we are highlighting guest Dennis Fallon, executive director of the Utility Arborist Association (UAA). The UAA partners with T&D World on the annual Vegetation Management supplement .  Field Editor Amy F...

The International Lineman's Museum started in 1996 in Shelby, North Carolina, in a display case at American Safety Corporation. Over the years, as the collection of historic photos, tools and signs grew, the exhibits moved upstairs into a 2,000-sq-ft space. In mid-2025, the museum, Lineman's Hall of Fame and FLO's memorial statue will have a new home in Leesburg, Florida. To hear Andy Price, the m...

With the 40th anniversary of the International Lineman's Rodeo only a few weeks away, we are airing the audio version of the story, "Cheers to 40 Years," from the September 2024 T&D World Lineworker Supplement. This story explores the history of the event and how volunteers come together each year to provide a week of fun, competition and camaraderie for the line trade. Pick up your copy of th...

For Part 2 of our series featuring Chad Dubea, we are highlighting the Fallen Linemen Organization (FLO), which helps families of wounded or fallen lineworkers in their time of need. After working in the line trade, Chad was looking for a way to give back to the industry he loved, and he founded the FLO to help families of lineworkers.  During the episode, we also explore his role as the executive...

The August 2024 cover story of T&D World is now an audio story in our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast. The article, authored by Lewis Bates of SSEN, shares how a combination of drones, robots and specially designed visual signals can divert birds from Scottish power lines.  To protect its power grid from birds, SSEN Transmission installed a visual warning to allow birds to alter their f...

For our Line Life Podcast, we will soon resume with more episodes in our "Faces of the Future" series highlighting apprentice lineworkers. In the meantime, we are featuring the first part of a two-part series featuring Chad Dubea, a journeyman lineworker, the former CEO of T&D Solutions, founder of the Fallen Lineman Organization (FLO) and executive director of " Life on the Line ," a movie ab...

Duquesne Light Company (DLC), a utility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, aimed to improve underground cable monitoring. The company opted to conduct an open innovation challenge, and it shared its story in the July 2024 issue of T&D World magazine. The article, which was authored by Kartik Ganjoo, Josh Gould, Dave Montz and Richard Sapporito of DLC, is now part of our In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)...

Kendra Secerin, an apprentice power line technician for Hydro One, first went to college for electrical, and then she moved into the power line program, loved it and has been working in the trade ever since. As a Level 4 apprentice, she is working on a transmission crew and has the opportunity to work on a variety of projects. She was the first woman to graduate from both the electrical and power...

Utility professionals looking to work as consultants or trade allies after retiring should start planning now, according to the article, " T aking the Next Step in Your Utility Career ," which originally appeared in our June 2024 Electric Utility Operations section of T&D World. This article, which is now available as part of our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast, is authored by Mike Zapp...