Meet TDPUD's Apprentice Linemen

Zack and Ben are two of the four Apprentice Linemen at TDPUD, meaning they are still completing their education program while they work for the District and get valuable hands-on experience. They are both more than halfway through their 3.5 year apprenticeship, and when they complete it they will become TDPUD Journeyman Linemen.

As part of their apprenticeship, Zack and Ben go to off-site trainings twice a year. While they are apprentices, Zack and Ben can work on low voltage equipment in the TDPUD system, meaning anything from the meter to the transformer. They have to wait to do high voltage work until they become journeymen, which is why attending these trainings is so important. They get experience in those skills in a controlled environment. The training sessions usually last 10 days, and often take them out of state.

Each training is focused on a specific skill of the job. Half of each day is spent in a classroom, where they learn about the math and engineering that goes into electric infrastructure, and the other half is spent in a “training lab,” where they get to see the concepts they are learning come to life, and practice and hone the skills they need to be a lineman using mock power pole set ups.

Zack and Ben see a lot of the same apprentices at these trainings as they move through the program. They say there’s a feeling of camaraderie among the group, and they even stay in touch and support each other. But there’s a healthy sense of competition at these trainings as well. The training equipment they work on is energized, and the hot sticks are set up so that if an apprentice makes a wrong move on the assignment, it creates a big flash and boom, attracting the attention—and maybe some teasing— from their colleagues.

Before Zack went to lineman college (a requirement before becoming an apprentice), he didn’t realize just how much went into maintaining power lines. He and Ben said the amount of new information that was thrown at them in the beginning could be overwhelming. People might be surprised by the depth of knowledge that linemen need to have about how the whole power system works; Zak and Ben spend a lot of time poring over their textbooks when they’re not out in the field.

It’s not always common to start an apprenticeship at the same time as someone else, but Zack and Ben say it has been a real benefit that they have each other to lean on. They both agree that they like the feeling they get after they put in a hard day’s work in the field (Ben actually enjoys being out in the elements during harsh winters!), and that it’s hard to have a bad day in this line of work.

Meet TDPUD's Journeyman Linemen

Kyle and Forrest are two of TDPUD’s Journeyman Linemen. Hear what Kyle and Forrest have to say about the work they do as linemen, what qualities it takes to be a lineman, the projects they’re looking forward to this summer, and more.

How long have you been in the trade and what made you decide to be a lineman?

Kyle: I started in 2017, first with Edison in Southern California, and I’ve been at TDPUD for 1.5 years. My dad was a PG&E lineman and my mom was a project manager for an electric company, and I have family friends who were linemen, so I followed in the family footsteps.

Forrest: I started in 2014, working in Texas and New Mexico before coming to TDPUD. I worked here for five years, left for a quick stint at another utility company, and returned to TDPUD six months ago. My cousin works as an electric engineer and he was helping me out with finding work, but I kind of just stumbled across a lineman apprenticeship. I looked into it and thought it looked cool, I’d get to work outside and it all seemed like the kind of stuff I’m into.

Kyle: I like bigger jobs, where there are cranes involved or multiple poles to set or wire stringing jobs, or tear downs. You need to have proper communication during those big ones. Everyone is up on multiple poles, you’re talking to your buddies, maybe you’re trying to race each other to see who can get the work done quickest. I find it fun, there’s more talking and more things going on. It’s fun to collaborate with your coworkers, come up with a game plan, and then see it evolve as you start working on the problem.

Forrest: Every job is similar but not every job is the same. The bigger, more complicated jobs are fun. It’s more to think about, whatever you do affects everything around you. You have to be working in sync with your buddy on the next pole. I also like doing hot work because you always have someone with you, so the banter doesn’t stop.

Forrest: I love the bad weather, the nastier it is the more I want to get out there. I also know that it’s probably going to be something cool we’re working on if it’s in a storm. It’s a pride thing, someone else wouldn’t volunteer to be out there in the snow but I would.

Kyle: It’s an ego thing, we like hard stuff. It’s why we’re in this job, we want to challenge ourselves. It was cool to see how much snow we got this winter, but we really didn’t have any major outage or crazy damage to work on.

Forrest: A lot of our job is assessing and mitigating danger. It all looks fine from the ground, but you don’t know what the situation is until you get up on the pole, so you have to anticipate a lot. You have to go in calm, cool and collected; freaking out is not going to get you anywhere. It’s not a dangerous job, it’s a hazardous job, and you can mitigate hazards. We have the right knowledge and experience to do this work right and do it safely.

Kyle: I’ve been in a situation that was an eye opener to how fast things can go sideways. When you’re an apprentice you spend a lot of time learning how to identify and mitigate hazards. You learn how to be calm, step back and assess, and talk amongst your peers. You can’t be close-minded.

Forrest: A lot of this job is problem solving, if you can’t think on your feet you’re not going to be a good lineman. You have to talk the situation out with your peers, and you have to be open to input. And you have to be watching each other's backs and have trust in your crew.

Kyle: If someone tells you they’re not scared of heights, they’re lying. Everyone has their points. You could be fine up on a pole when it’s sunny, but when it’s windy you’re not going to feel as comfortable as you did before in that same situation. But it’s about how you’re able to push through. You can’t let it keep you from doing your job.

Forrest: Being in a bucket truck is a weird feeling, but you get used to it. You have to be ok with that feeling to get the job done. Can you set that fear aside? Can you complete your tasks and trust your equipment?

Kyle: There’s a ton of mental strength needed to be a lineman. You have to push those fears aside, of live electricity, of heights, that one wrong move could kill you.

Forrest: Sometimes it’s 2am, your kid’s sick, you’ve been up dealing with that and everything going on in your home life, but you get called in. You have to get your head right and get out there and do the job. It’s not always fun to say yes when you get that call, but you have to do it.

Kyle: That’s where we lean on our brothers. We’re open and honest with each other. Someone can tell the group they’re having a rough time, and we’ll say, ok you stay on the ground today. We look out for each other. Our wives and girlfriends are close too, we’re a tight-knit group.

Forrest: It’s not always like that. This place is unique in that sense. I know I can count on everyone here to have my back.

Kyle: I’m looking forward to the Church Street project. It’s the best of both worlds, we’ll be doing a good amount of undergrounding, but also get to do a lot of overhead wreck outs. Truthfully, the public has no idea the amount of work that goes into just turning on their lights at home. I think if they knew the backstory of what goes into flipping that switch, their minds would be blown. 

Forrest: I appreciate the customers here, most of them are cool as hell. They’re understanding and appreciative of us, even after a multi-day outage, they’re just happy we’re there working for them.

Kyle: They want to shake your hand, give you a hot chocolate, take a picture of their kid in front of your truck.

Forrest: Even just with the everyday stuff, people are always stoked to see you. They want to know what you’re working on and ask questions. The community here is cool to workers, we’ve got a good support system here in Truckee.

Kyle: I like riding dirt bikes, I ride with Forrest and some other linemen. I like mountain biking with my fiance and spending the day on the mountain snowboarding with her. I like walking our dogs and hanging out.

Forrest: I race motorcross and I dirt bike with the guys. I like going camping when I can. I have two sons, they’re 2.5 and 6, so I like doing dad things with them—bike rides, jumping on the trampoline, wrestling with them.