CITY OF THOMASVILLE SALUTES LINEMEN

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CITY OF THOMASVILLE SALUTES LINEMEN  Article PhotoCity of Thomasville Utilities’ Electric Department linemen know what it means to work in some of the worst weather conditions. Electric linemen and other electric crew members are called to spring into action when the winds are howling and the rain is pounding, making an already dangerous job even more extreme. Weather that requires most people to stay safely indoors is exactly when these important staff members of the City of Thomasville do their best work.

“Our electric crew is extremely hard working, dedicated and professional,” said Bruce Whittington, Director of Electric Engineering and Operations. “Weather can be unpredictable and can change quickly, but our crews ensure that no matter what the conditions, our customers will have the most reliable electric service possible.”

On April 18th, the City of Thomasville Utilities’ Electric Department will join other electric providers nationwide in celebrating the hardworking men and women who keep the lights on. In total, the City of Thomasville employs 19 linemen at various levels within the department.

“The line crew for the City of Thomasville Utilities’ Electric Department includes electricians, apprentice linemen, groundsmen, and tree trimmers,” said Brent Alderman, Electric Operations Manager and a lineman. “Each person is an important member of our team. They represent the first responders in our community when electric service is impacted.”

Electricity is delivered along a series of connected wires and poles, and when that connection is interrupted by something like a falling tree branch, faulty equipment or anything else, crews respond. “Our number one priority is to safely rebuild and restore services as quickly as possible,” Whittington said.

City of Thomasville Utilities’ Electric Operations staff members work to do just that in the case of every outage, whether big or small. During the peak of Hurricane Irma, for example, 8,097 customers were without power across 285 outages. “Our crews worked extended hours over several days to bring our community back to full restoration,” said Alderman. “We take pride in working as safely and as quickly as possible to bring service back to our customers when an outage occurs.”

The path to lineman is one that involves many hours of training and preparation to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to safely work with electricity. “The first level within our department is that of Groundsman, which requires only the ability and desire to learn,” said Alderman. “Groundsmen work in the field and also attend training classes presented by the Electric Cities of Georgia (ECG) to become certified.”

Once certified, a Groundsman has the opportunity to be promoted to Apprentice Lineman. “The lineman apprenticeship involves three years of field experience and applied classroom training to become certified by ECG,” said Alderman. “Once certified, an apprentice lineman then completes an on-the-job training program to show proficiency at meeting field requirements and benchmarks.”

According to Whittington, this phase involves advancing his or her skills and working on energized lines and transformers in both outage situations and for routine powerline maintenance. “Showing proficiency in both field work and safety procedures is equally important,” he said.

When the apprentice demonstrates that he or she has the skills and knowledge required to be a lineman, a training test is given on the job. “If the candidate is successful, the apprentice advances to a lineman,” said Alderman.

In addition to Alderman, the City of Thomasville Utilities’ Electric Operations line crew includes Lineman and Distribution Supervisor Terry Henderson; Lead Linemen/Crew Leaders Jarrett Turnbull and Rudy Thompson; Linemen Steve Humphries, Scott Stephens, Joe Lane, Jacob Gunn, and Jesse Mayfield; Electrician Ben Spencer; Apprentice Linemen Jeremy Layton, Dusty Rodgers, Jeffrey Highsmith, Bryce Gay, Taylor McWade-Murray, Jeremy Baker, Chad Young and Curtis Eidson; Tree Trimmer/ Crew Leaders Thomas Phillips and Robert Prosser; and Tree Trimmers Richard Dukes, Austin Smith, Mitchell Brumbley and Donald Such.


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