The Line Life Podcast

Working as a Troubleman in the Pacific Northwest: Featuring Jon Backman of Puget Sound Energy

This Line Life Podcast episode highlights the 25-year career of Jon Backman, an IBEW journeyman lineworker, troubleman for Puget Sound Energy and founder of Making Connections, LLC. The graduate of Northwest Lineman College started in the line trade in the utility line clearance program before joining an apprenticeship program at a municipality in Washington State. When he topped out as a journeyman, he worked as a lineworker for a PUD in Washington State and then moved to Puget Sound Energy to work as a troubleman or electric first responder. In his current role, he responds to storms and outages and serves his community. 

To learn more about Jon, read his profile in the April 2025 Lineworker Focus department and his article about RFI troubleshooting coming up in T&D World's May 2025 Electric Utility Operations section. If you know of a journeyman lineworker we should consider profiling in Lineworker Focus and have as a guest on our Line Life Podcast, email me at amyfischbach@gmail.com. Also, listen and subscribe to the Line Life Podcast at linelife.podbean.com to become part of our community. 

ICYMI: NYPA Harnesses the Power of AI for Inspections

Our latest episode in our In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) series takes us to New York, where the New York Power Authority (NYPA) is streamlining its maintenance program with AI technology to detect anomalies and prioritize tasks in the field. 

This article, which was originally published in the March 2025 issue of T&D World magazine, explores how the utility is using drones and cameras to capture visual data, which is then analyzed by AI-driven computer vision technology. This technology expedites inspections by analyzing vast numbers of images quickly to detect issues, said Atena Darvishi, R&D director for NYPA.

To learn more about the technology, stay tuned to the T&D World website to read the full article online. You can also check out another narrated story in our ICYMI series about NYPA: "Line Monitoring, New York Style" on our Line Life Podcast platform. Also, if your utility is using technology in an innovative way, we want to hear about it. Email Field Editor Amy Fischbach with your story of how your utility is improving safety and productivity in the field through the use of technology. Thanks for listening and subscribing to the Line Life Podcast!

Working Underground in Chicago: Featuring Apprentice Luis Gutierrez of ComEd

For Part 8 of our Faces of the Future podcast series, we are highlighting Luis Gutierrez, an underground apprentice for ComEd in Chicago. During the episode, Luis describes what it's like to work in manholes as part of the underground crew, how he is learning new skills at ComEd's underground training center and what he sees in the future for the line trade. He also shares his safety strategies while working underground and tips for success in an apprenticeship. 

To learn more about Luis, check out the March 2024 Faces of the Future department in T&D World magazine. If you'd like to nominate an apprentice lineworker for the Faces of the Future department and related podcast series, send an email to amyfischbach@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!

The Rise of Tech in UVM: Exploring the Impact of AI, VR and AR in the Utility Industry

Tree crews and lineworkers often work side by side, especially following storms. This T&D World Line Life Podcast episode explores the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) on utility vegetation management and the electric utility industry.

Guests include Phil Swart of Clearway Industries; Jason Grossman, manager of vegetation management for Liberty Utilities and Lawrence Kahn, adjunct professor at Tulane University Law School.

To learn more about UVM, subscribe to T&D World's Vegetation Management & Wildfire Mitigation enewsletter and check out our June 2025 T&D World Vegetation Management Supplement, published in partnership with the Utility Arborist Association (UAA). Also, make plans to attend the 2025 Trees & Utilities Conference presented by the UAA and Arbor Day Foundation Sept. 9 to 11 in Knoxville, Tennessee. 

Lineworker Focus: Journeyman Brian Lozano of Midwest Energy

Brian Lozano, a journeyman lineworker for Midwest Energy, shares his story of working on the line in Hays, Kansas. The 28-year-old father of two started working for a contractor in Colorado in 2016, and six years later, he moved to central Kansas to work for Midwest Energy.

In his service territory, he responds to wind and tornadoes, but he has also provided mutual aid when he worked for a contractor. He says it's rewarding to help communities in need and work with other lineworkers to get the lights back on. He says in the line trade, safety is very important, and he strives to work safely to come home to his family every night.

To learn more about Brian, who competed for the first time at the 2024 International Lineman's Rodeo, check out the March 2025 "Focus: a Lineworker's View" department in T&D World magazine. 

ICYMI: Training on the Line: Highlighting Brittany Grammer of Northeast Community College

This episode of the Line Life Podcast takes us to Nebraska, where Brittany Grammer is studying to become a lineworker at Northeast Community College. Todd Pfeil, an instructor of the Utility Line Courses and an alumnus from the program, shares the story of the 36-year-old mother of four and the only woman in her class of 48 future utility lineworkers. The episode, which is part of our ICYMI series, is narrated from Todd's story, "Training on the Line" in our February 2025 field-focused Electric Utility Operations section in T&D World magazine. 

Faces of the Future, Part 7: Featuring Bryce Zahn of Capital Electric Line Builders

For Part 7 of our Faces of the Future series for the Line Life Podcast, we are featuring Bryce Zahn, an apprentice lineworker for Capital Electric Line Builders. For this episode, he shares his story about restoring power following Hurricane Helene and spending two weeks in North Carolina helping Duke Energy get the lights back on following flooding and mudslides. Bryce describes what it was like to stay in a man camp in a semi with a separate bed space, air conditioning and a sleeping bag after working 16-hour work days. 

At the end of the episode, you'll hear from his 10-year-old son, Caleb, who competed with his two brothers in the first annual International Power Line Kids Rodeo, hosted by Missouri Valley JATC and Buckingham Manufacturing. Caleb, who wants to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a lineworker one day, prepared for the event by climbing trees. He said he was happy to have his dad back from storm duty in North Carolina just in time for the International Lineman's Rodeo Week. 

Bryce is also featured in our December 2024 Faces of the Future department in T&D World magazine. View our playlist on the Line Life Podcast YouTube channel to listen to other apprentices in our Faces of the Future podcast series.

Apprentice lineworkers, if you're interested in being featured in a future Faces of the Future department, fill out this online form and email a photo of yourself working out in the field to amyfischbach@gmail.com. Journeyman lineworkers and field supervisors are highlighted in our Lineworker Focus department. We look forward to hearing from you!

ICYMI: Lineman's Rodeo Week Connects the Competitors

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 only online and in social media, but also in its December print issue. This year, we featured one article on the winners, which we recently narrated for our ICYMI series for this episode, and another article exploring the events of Rodeo Week from the Safety and Training Conference to the Trade Night. Listen to this audio story to hear about how lineworkers learned to stay safe during the one-and-a-half-day conference, explored tools and technologies at the Lineman's Expo and swapped shirts and stories during Trade Night. 

Also, stay tuned to the Line Life Podcast to listen to future episodes featuring interviews from the trade show floor in the T&D World booth with special guests in the line trade. If you want to be on a future episode, email us at linelifepodcast@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you.