Electricity is an aspect of life in the United States that can easily be taken for granted.
Americans don’t think twice when they flip a switch to fill a room with light or push a button to turn on a television or computer. Electric power is everywhere and not much attention is paid to it – unless it’s suddenly not there.
Maintaining existing lines of electricity and bringing them to new locations requires hard outdoor work in all kinds of conditions and settings. A given task or project could involve anything from working high above ground on a power pole, to digging a hole in rocky soil to prepare for setting a new pole, to braving stormy weather to reconnect lost power to a business or home.
Such is the realm of the electrical lineman.
In rural portions of Texas County and much of the surrounding area, the linemen taking on the challenge of electrifying peoples’ lives work for Intercounty Electric Cooperative Association, a member-owned organization headquartered in Licking. Ever since Intercounty’s first line was energized in April 1938, the company’s linemen have recognized and embraced the importance of keeping the juice flowing. Intercounty Electric will recognize its 75th anniversary at its annual meeting Friday, June 24.
“It’s a very prideful job, and there’s a lot of satisfaction in a job well done,” Intercounty training and loss control coordinator Doug Lane said. “But really, it’s more than just a job – it becomes a way of life. Linemen are close-knit group; they watch each other’s back and take care of each other.”
One thing that sets a lineman’s line of work apart from many others is that schedules can be sharply affected by inclement weather. When a big winter ice storm hits and many people are throwing logs in the wood stove to heat up some hot chocolate, and doing what they can to stay warm during a power outage, Intercounty linemen lace up their steel-toed boots and head out into the field to make sure the lights and heat come back on as soon as possible.
“That comes with the territory,” Lane said. “Everybody knows that when they sign on to be a lineman that’s what it’s all about. You have to work in some tough circumstances, and it has to kind of be built into a person to do that type of work.
“Of course, there are a lot of support people involved, too, manning the phones and computers at the office, taking meals to the guys in the field and all kinds of other things. When there’s an outage, it really takes a team effort to get everyone’s lights back on. But we all want it back on quick when the lights go out.”
Troy Hunt, a Licking resident and 22-year veteran of Intercounty line work, is a foreman of one of the company’s many four-man truck crews. He said one of the best things about being a lineman is the reaction people have when power is restored following an outage.
“There’s a lot of gratification to it,” Hunt said. “When you get people back on, they’re very grateful.”
Of course, not all outages are related to weather. Sometimes squirrels, birds, snakes and other unsuspecting animals make decisions that cause them to be quick-fried by energized lines, and a loss of power subsequently takes place in a given area or neighborhood.
“That can and does happen sometimes,” Lane said.
But big storms are notorious for causing the most significant outages, like the one that somewhat unexpectedly hit Intercounty territory in May 2010.
“That was a busy time,” Lane said. “There was quite a bit of damage and lots of overtime. But there’s a good team of folks here and everybody worked, from the top management on down. When there’s an outage, we all pitch in and go.”
Lane has been with Intercounty about four years, after working with Clay County Cooperative in Arkansas. He has seen plenty in his 31-year career in the industry (that began with more than a dozen as a lineman) and recalls the unusual characteristics of the May 2010 storm.
“There were a lot of differences with that storm,” Lane said, “But especially the way the trees blew down – they were ‘loaded.’ The roots were still in the ground and the trees were twisted and bent and still had a lot of pressure on them. Many people were commenting about how you never knew what the trees were going to do when you cut them because the pressure points were so different. Nobody got hurt, but nobody knew what the trees were going to do.”
Before achieving full journeyman status, Intercounty linemen must go through an in-depth, five-year apprenticeship program. Most of the program involves on-the-job education, but academic work – including 40 different tests – is also involved.
“There’s a lot of training before they actually get their journeymanship,” Lane said. “It’s a pretty rigorous program, and it takes a lot of time, effort and dedication on their part to get there.”
Intercounty has about 70 linemen working its coverage area that is broken up into three districts (north, central and south) and includes portions of 10 Missouri counties.
“They have a lot of duties,” Lane said. “But it’s mainly about building new lines and keeping existing ones on. There’s no slack time.”
Since high voltage electricity is in the mix, those duties require being careful to avoid injury.
“Some people say it’s a dangerous job,” Lane said, “and it can be a hazardous job. If we don’t follow the rules, we make it dangerous.”
Working in the hills and hollows of the Ozarks can present challenges to Intercounty linemen that aren’t necessarily dealt with by their brethren in flatter regions.
“It can definitely make a difference as far as how you set your truck up to do a job,” Lane said.
In addition to a good pair of boots and a mandatory hard hat, a lineman’s apparel sometimes includes chest, arm and hand gear made of thick rubber designed to deter electric shock. Tools used on the job range from basics like pliers and wire cutters to high-tech trucks sporting extendable arms with compartments for workers (a.k.a. buckets) or huge claws for grabbing and setting poles.
Lane said Intercounty crews are well equipped for the jobs they do.
“There’s a lot of very expensive stuff involved,” he said. “But Intercounty does a fine job of keeping us in good equipment.”
Being one of hundreds of electric co-ops across the country, Intercounty is in the unusual position of having its customers also as its owners.
“Intercounty is part of the community,” Lane said. “We’re here to take care of the community, and the community takes care of us. We have a broad membership, and most people working here are members. Of course, the members are our owners, and we’re here to serve the members.”
Click here for a 16-page news section recognizing the 75thanniversary of Intercounty Electric.