The Line Life Podcast

ICYMI: Cutting Wildfire Risk

In May 2024, T&D World not only included articles about wildfire mitigation in the annual Wildfire Supplement, but also in the print issue of the magazine. For this In Case You Missed It episode on the Line LIfe Podcast platform, we are featuring an audio version of the article, "Cutting Wildfire Risk."

In this story, Thuan Tran, Jesse Rorabaugh and Andrew Swisher of Southern California Edison (SCE) share how their utility is taking a multi-layered approach to effectively mitigating the wildfire challenge. For example, SCE is driving down the wildfire threat by hardening the grid to avoid or prevent faults that can result in potential ignitions.

Learn more by listening to the narrated version of this story on Podbean or reading the article on the T&D World website. 

 

 

Faces of the Future, Part 1: Zackery Gough of Pedernales Electric Cooperative

To honor the up-and-coming lineworkers in the line trade, we launched a new department called Faces of the Future in T&D World magazine. Through this new podcast series, you can now hear the voices of these apprentices, who talk about their inspiration for working in the trade and their experiences learning on the job. 

The first up is Zackery Gough, a fourth-year apprentice for Pedernales Electric Cooperative in Texas. Zack won the apprentice division not once, but twice, at the International Lineman's Rodeo, and he's eligible to compete in the division once again this October. He talks about training at Northwest Lineman College, working in the intense Texas summer heat and working out in the field to keep the lights on for his community. 

To learn more about Zack, you can read his online profile, which appeared in T&D World magazine. 

ICYMI: LUMA Embarks on Island-Wide Work Plan

For our latest episode in our In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) series for our Line Life Podcast on Podbean,  we are showcasing a narrated version of T&D World's April 2024 cover story, "LUMA Embarks on Island-Wide Work Plan."

This article explores how LUMA Energy is aiming to boost reliability and resiliency by focusing on vegetation clearing, automation and substation modernization in Puerto Rico. 

For more information, you can listen to a recent two-part series on our Line Life Podcast on Podbean featuring Dr. Shay Bahamirad, senior vice president T&D Strategy and Sustainability for LUMA Energy.

Part 1: LUMA's Power Grid Transformation in Puerto Rico
Part 2: LUMA's Island-Wide Work Plan in Puerto Rico

We also published the article, "Powering Puerto Rico," in our 2023 Lineworker Supplement, and it is available as an audio story in our ICYMI series. 

Problem Solvers, Part 2: Bruce Thompson's Journey from California Line Foreman to Inventor

Bruce Thompson, a retired journeyman lineworker, has worked for Southern California Edison and line contractors nationwide. After serving as a line foreman and training crew foreman, he invented a new product called the Step-Up to help fellow lineworkers to get in proper positioning when working on poles. 

During this episode, he shares his story about going to work with his dad, a lineworker, in Florida; working across the country in the line trade; training the next generation of lineworkers; and inventing a product to help lineworkers to improve safety and efficiency in the field. 

ICYMI: Line Monitoring, New York Style

For this audio story in our ICYMI series for T&D World's Line Life Podcast, we are featuring the February 2024 cover story, "Line Monitoring, New York Style." The story, which was written by Alan Ettlinger, senior director of research, technology development and innovation at New York Power Authority (NYPA), describes how the utility is using fiber-optic sensing, based on the principles of distributed acoustic sensing, to identify power line conditions in real time. Click here to read the article on T&D World's website. 

Problem Solvers: Tim Barat's Transition from Australian Lineworker to Inventor and CEO

For Part 1 of our new Problem Solvers series for the Line Life Podcast, we are highlighting Tim Barat, who worked as a sparky (electrician) before training to become a liney (lineworker) in Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.

While working in the line trade in 2009, Tim experienced Black Saturday, a day he will never forget. Wildfires took the lives of 173 people, injured 414, burned half a million acres, consumed 3,500 buildings and killed more than 1 million animals.

The wildfires impacted him personally and professionally and changed the course of his career. He moved from Australia to California, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California-Berkeley.

Tim and two other UC Berkeley alumni, Hall Chen and Abdulrahman Bin Omar, then invented Gridscope. Lineworkers install the device on transmission and distribution poles to provide continuous real-time asset monitoring even during outages. After securing a patent, the team founded the company, Gridware.

Listen to this episode to learn how Tim built his own electrical grid in California to test the technology and how he and his team took the product from a concept to reality. 

ICYMI: Reflecting on a Tragic Night and Resilient Recovery

In the aftermath of a fatal tornado in Mayfield, Kentucky, Mayfield Electric & Water Systems navigated devastation and outages. By listening to this narrated version of an article, which is part of T&D World's In Case You Missed It series, General Superintendent Marty T. Ivy shares how his utility was able to swiftly respond after a tornado with wind speeds reaching up to 190 miles per hour demolished nearly 500 homes, killed 22 people and knocked out power to most residents. To read the online story, published in the March 2024 field-focused Electric Utility Operations section of T&D World magazine, click here. 

On the Job in California: Featuring Journeyman Lineworker Jason Mendoza of SDG&E

Jason Mendoza, a journeyman lineworker for San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E), served in the military before pursuing a career in the line trade. After working for utilities in the Midwest, he and his family moved to California, where he is now on a transmission crew at SDG&E. Listen to this episode to hear his stories of working from a helicopter and undergoing barehand training at his utility.