Thank A Lineworker
April 18 is officially Lineworker Appreciation Day, giving us all a great opportunity to properly thank and appreciate our lineworkers. It’s safe to say that without these highly skilled, highly trained, teamwork driven individuals, none of us would enjoy the freedoms and conveniences of electricity here on the rural sides of The Eastern Shore.
It goes without saying that a lineworker’s job is not easy. The job of keeping power flowing at all times for 55,500+ members across 6,345 miles of line is no small task. And we often need them most when the conditions are at their worst. Rain, snow, wind, storms, flooding, etc. ... our lineworkers have seen and worked through it all. It takes 8,000+ hours of on-the-job-training and 600 hours of related course study to reach journeyman status. A tough career for the committed and brave, the long hours and ever-present dangers can truly take a toll on the worker as well as their families. A lineworker’s job is considered one of the most dangerous, only behind loggers and farm laborers. On top of that, today’s lineworkers must be experts in the latest technologies, enabling them to effectively restore and perform preventative maintenance by pinpointing outages and trouble- shooting problems, all in real time.
A properly run electric cooperative takes many fine people and our lineworker crews are at the heart of it. They are the power behind our power. Thank you to all lineworkers, especially to our Choptank Electric Cooperative crews. You wholeheartedly deserve it.