The Line Life Podcast

Protecting Birds with Drone-Installed Flight Diverters

Ameren Missouri recently installed high-visibility flight diverters on distribution and high-voltage transmission lines over Bagnell Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. With bald eagles flocking to the area, the flight diverters help to prevent collisions with overhead lines.

In other parts of the service territory, lineworkers have installed covers, deterring not only eagles but also other large birds from striking multiple energized phases at the same time. Through its avian protection program, Ameren is not only protecting wildlife but also the integrity of its distribution system. 

For T&D World's July 2023 Line Life Podcast, which is sponsored by Huskie Tools, Field Editor Amy Fischbach has a conversation with Kurt Rakers, supervising engineer at Ameren Missouri, about how the utility used drones to install the bird diverters.

T&D Talk, Episode 2: Exploring Digital Grid Resiliency Assessments

T&D Talk is a new special series on our 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 our second episode in our T&D Talk podcast series, Ray Kasten, vice president, digital solutions, for Southwire, focuses on digital grid resiliency assessments. With lower O&M dollars and more customers working from home, utilities can conduct a 30-day assessment to measure the health of their network, identify areas of improvement with the highest ROI and improve reliability and resiliency with limited dollars. For more information, visit www.southwire.com.

Women on the Line, Part 4: Featuring Randi Blaser of Ameren Illinois

For the first three parts of our Women on the Line series for our Line Life Podcast, we focused on the history of women in line work. Now we are looking to the future with Part 4, which features Lineworker Randi Blaser of Ameren Illinois. With both a mom and dad in the line trade, Randi grew up in the industry and remembers watching lineworkers compete at the International Lineman's Rodeo as a child. It wasn't until she was in college, however, that she decided she wanted to pursue a career in the trade. She recently topped out at Ameren Illinois, and during this podcast episode, she shares the challenges and opportunities for women in the line trade.

Women on the Line, Part 3: Featuring Joanne Ward

Back in the 1970s, Joanne Ward became interested in non-traditional job roles for women, and she applied for a position as a line crew helper for Seattle City Light, where she later served as a crew chief and crew coordinator. Years after her retirement, she published a poetry book titled, Utility. For Part 3 of our Women on the Line series, Joanne recites some of her poems, including "1978: Affirmative Action," "Utility" and "Cable Terminations." She also shares her memories of working as a high-voltage electrician in substation maintenance and construction and offers tips on crew leadership for women who are currently working in the line trade. 

Women on the Line, Part 2: Featuring Alice Lockridge

Our guest for the April 2023 Line Life Podcast is Alice Lockridge, who helped to prepare some of the first women lineworkers at Seattle City Light for a career in the line trade. In Part 2 of our Women on the Line series, Alice shares tips on how utilities can attract, train and retain women in the field workforce. 

T&D Talk, Episode 1: Extending the Life of Underground Cables

T&D Talk is a new special series on our 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. Episode 1 focuses on the cable rejuvenation process by Southwire Cable Rejuvenation Services, formerly Novinium Underground. It features Wayne Chatterton, director of strategy for the services industry and James Steele, director of engineering, for Southwire. For more information, visit www.southwire.com.

Women on the Line, Part 1: Featuring Susan Blaser of Metropolitan Community College

For Women's History Month in March 2023, we are featuring Susan Blaser, the lineman program coordinator at Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City. Susan was the first journeyman lineworker at Kansas City Power & Light (now Evergy) and she now trains students for future careers in the line trade. In this episode, she shares her experiences about what it was like working as a female lineworker and discusses the opportunities for women in today's field workforce.

Spotlight on Substation Work with Parker Worth

Our February 2023 Line Life podcast shines the spotlight on Parker Worth's career and his life on the road as a substation superintendent. He shares his experiences managing large-scale substation projects and also talks about issues including deterring copper theft and wildlife intrusion at substations. During the early part of his career as a journeyman wireman, Worth also traveled the world performing electrical work. He talks about what it was like upgrading electrical systems in 20 different countries and what he learned during his overseas adventures.