The Line Life Podcast

ICYMI: Wildfire Special Report: PGE Takes Holistic Approach to Mitigation

T&D World covers wildfire mitigation year-round, but each May, we devote a special section or supplement to this topic. This audio story in our ICYMI series examines how Portland General Electric (PGE) is adopting a holistic approach to mitigation, setting a model for preventing wildfires in the Northwest. 

To read the full story, which was authored by Ben Felton, executive vice president and chief operating officer of PGE and narrated by Amy Fischbach, host of the Line Life Podcast, visit the wildfire page on the T&D World website. Also, subscribe to the Line Life Podcast channel to listen to more audio stories about wildfire mitigation from the May 2025 special report in the print issue. We'd love to have you as part of our podcast community. Thanks for tuning in!

T&D Talk, Part 2: Novel Innovations in T&D to Ensure a Reliable Electric Grid

T&D Talk is a special series on the T&D World Line Life podcast channel. For each episode, companies can share their stories about how they are supporting the electric utility industry. Through their tools, technologies, products and services, they are helping lineworkers and fieldworkers improve their productivity and safety.

For Part 2 of a three-part series sponsored by Southwire, we are featuring the episode, "Novel Innovations in T&D to Ensure a Reliable Electric Grid."  This episode focuses on innovations in transmission and distribution to ensure reliability and resiliency. Our guest is Charles Holcombe, director of overhead systems and solutions for Southwire.

To learn more about our guest and the topic of this episode, visit the T&D World website. You can also listen to Part 1 of our series by clicking here. Part 1 focuses on the role of Southwire's analytics in DEMCO's grid management. 

Living the Line Life from California to Missouri: Featuring Alman Kerste of Evergy

Alman Kerste, a father of three kids, grew up in California and worked for Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) before relocating to the Kansas City area, where he now works for Evergy. He has spent nearly two decades in the line trade, most recently as an evening troubleman and a journeyman lineworker for a C&M crew in a district.

During this Line Life Podcast interview, he talks about responding to outages caused by thunderstorms in his home service territory and traveling to provide mutual assistance following Hurricane Helene. He also shares his experiences as a competitor and a volunteer for the International Lineman's Rodeo. 

ICYMI: ComEd Powers the Future with a Focus on Community

The clean energy transition is expected to create as many as 150,000 new jobs in Illinois by 2050. As ComEd builds its workforce, the utility is taking steps to reflect the vibrant communities it serves, which comprise more than 9 million people who speak more than 50 languages and reside in both rural and urban areas. In this audio story for T&D World's Line Life Podcast's ICYMI series, ComEd shares four strategies to recruit and train talented and local candidates and keep them safe in the field. 

This story, which was originally published in the May 2025 print issue of T&D World magazine, explores how the utility is focusing on trades training and STEM education; expanding internal and external training programs: enhancing recruitment to reach more women in the line trade and ensuring inclusivity and safety by expanding equipment and clothing offerings for its field workforce. 

For example, ComEd has launched all-female climb clinics to help women practice climbing poles and prepare for employment testing. In addition, the utility has partnered with vendors to explore how safety gear, including fall protection and flame-retardant clothing, can better fit and protect women while working overhead. Click here to read the article on the T&D World website.

Leading Line Crews in Texas: Featuring David Hernandez of Pedernales Electric Cooperative

For our 110th episode of the Line Life Podcast, we are highlighting David Hernandez, the regional operations supervisor at Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC). He worked for Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC) for 22 years before he joined PEC in 2020. 

In this interview, recorded at the 2024 International Lineman's Expo, he discusses how he first got involved with the Rodeo in 2000 and became hooked. At the 2024 competition, he and his journeyman team finished fourth place in the REA division at the International Lineman's Rodeo. 

He also described what it was like transitioning from a journeyman lineworker to a supervisor in the line trade and how he is keeping his crews safe in the field.

To learn more about David, read the Lineworker Focus department on our website. If you would like to nominate a journeyman lineworker or field supervisor for this department, email Amy Fischbach, T&D World Field Editor and host of the Line Life Podcast. We look forward to hearing from you!

ICYMI: Entergy Shares Strategies for Storm Response

In the line trade, storm restoration is a part of the job. Lineworkers work through the night in severe weather conditions to rebuild infrastructure and restore power. In our May 2025 issue of T&D World, we featured the story, "Entergy Shares Strategies for Storm Response," to highlight best practices. The article, which was written by Bill Perry, explores four tactics for better restoration from Entergy's 2024 hurricane season. 

To learn more, you can read the article on the T&D World website or check it out in the May 2025 print issue. 

Faces of the Future: Featuring Vincent Napolitano of Ameren Illinois

T&D World's Faces of the Future department highlights up-and-comers in the line trade. For this week's episode, we are highlighting Vincent Napolitano, an apprentice for Ameren Illinois and a competitor at the International Lineman's Rodeo. During his apprenticeship, he is learning new things every day and also helping others who are just starting in the line trade. He trains both in the classroom and the field and works out of the operating center in Peoria, Illinois. His crew specializes in overhead and underground and works mainly on distribution. When storms hit, he focuses on troubleshooting, and when he tops out as a journeyman, he may be interested in assisting with mutual assistance calls. 

To prepare for the International Lineman's Rodeo in 2024, he trained with other apprentices to take practice tests and test his skills alongside the journeymen on the training grounds. In the future, he wants to stay out in the field, and he says the crews he works with are like a family. 

To learn more about Vincent, you can read the Faces of the Future department in our June 2025 T&D World print magazine and soon on our website. Also, if you are an apprentice lineworker who is interested in being profiled, fill out this online form and email a photo of you by a bucket truck, competing at the Rodeo or working out in the field to Amy Fischbach, Field Editor of T&D World magazine and host of the Line Life Podcast. Journeymen lineworkers are featured in our Lineworker Focus department and need to fill out this online form. All featured lineworkers receive a free tool package from Milwaukee Tool for their dedication to the line trade. 

ICYMI: Investigating Power Line RFI

For our latest episode in our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast, we are airing the audio story, "Investigating Power Line RFI," from the May 2025 field-focused Electric Utility Operations section in the T&D World print magazine.  In this article, Jon Backman, a journeyman lineworker with 20 years of experience in the line trade, shares strategies on how lineworkers can find and eliminate the noise. Because power companies have the legal responsibility to respond to RFI issues caused by their system, their lineworkers can become trained in RFI troubleshooting to perform these investigations properly. 

As a first response troubleman for his utility, Jon responds to power outages, electrical emergencies, public safety concerns and customer needs. At one point during his career, he was offered the opportunity to work as an RFI responder, and in this role, he has had the opportunity to learn and evolve. In this audio story, he describes his experiences with training and troubleshooting and also offers seven steps to investigating RFI location. 

For more information about Jon, who is also the founder of Making Connections, LLC, listen to the episode, "Working as a Troubleman in the Pacific Northwest," or read his profile on the T&D World website. 

If you would like to share your story in T&D World magazine or be featured on the Line Life Podcast, email Field Editor Amy Fischbach, host of the Line Life Podcast.