The Line Life Podcast

ICYMI: A More Bird-Friendly Sky

The August 2024 cover story of T&D World is now an audio story in our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast. The article, authored by Lewis Bates of SSEN, shares how a combination of drones, robots and specially designed visual signals can divert birds from Scottish power lines. 

To protect its power grid from birds, SSEN Transmission installed a visual warning to allow birds to alter their flight path. The Scottish utility worked with FulcrumAir to install the Power Line Sentry Hawk Eye BFD diverters by robot and drone. 

To read the full story, go to T&D World's website. 

Launching a Business in the Line Trade: Featuring Chad Dubea

For our Line Life Podcast, we will soon resume with more episodes in our "Faces of the Future" series highlighting apprentice lineworkers. In the meantime, we are featuring the first part of a two-part series featuring Chad Dubea, a journeyman lineworker, the former CEO of T&D Solutions, founder of the Fallen Lineman Organization (FLO) and executive director of "Life on the Line," a movie about the line trade starring John Travolta. 

The first part will focus on his experiences growing up in the utility industry and his early years as a lineworker. After starting his own contracting company, he is now helping lineworkers, both union and non-union, to launch their own businesses. He shares tips and strategies for lineworkers to launch successful companies to serve the utility industry.

Learn more by picking up a copy of the September 2024 T&D World Lineworker Supplement, which features the article, "Lineworkers to Leaders," at T&D World's booth #73  at the 2024 International Lineman's Rodeo this October. We look forward to seeing you there, and having you as a guest on the Line Life Podcast. 

ICYMI: Crowdsourcing Underground Monitoring

Duquesne Light Company (DLC), a utility in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, aimed to improve underground cable monitoring. The company opted to conduct an open innovation challenge, and it shared its story in the July 2024 issue of T&D World magazine.

The article, which was authored by Kartik Ganjoo, Josh Gould, Dave Montz and Richard Sapporito of DLC, is now part of our In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) series for the Line Life podcast. Learn more about the project by reading the full article on the website. 

Faces of the Future, Part 5: Featuring Kendra Secerin of Hydro One

Kendra Secerin, an apprentice power line technician for Hydro One, first went to college for electrical, and then she moved into the power line program, loved it and has been working in the trade ever since. As a Level 4 apprentice, she is working on a transmission crew and has the opportunity to work on a variety of projects. She was the first woman to graduate from both the electrical and power line program at St. Clair College, and she is now on a committee to encourage more women to join the trades. 

For more information about Kendra, look for the Faces of the Future department in T&D World's field-focused Electric Utility Operations section in the October 2024 issue and online at www.tdworld.com/electric-utility-operations. If you have an apprentice lineworker you would like to nominate for a future department, send an email to amyfischbach@gmail.com. 

ICYMI: Taking the Next Step in Your Utility Career

Utility professionals looking to work as consultants or trade allies after retiring should start planning now, according to the article, "Taking the Next Step in Your Utility Career," which originally appeared in our June 2024 Electric Utility Operations section of T&D World.

This article, which is now available as part of our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast, is authored by Mike Zappone of Tempest Utility Consulting. He shares the stories of three recent retirees from the utility industry and their journey from working full-time to consultants: Anthony Hurley, who retired from FirstEnergy's Jersey Central Power & Light; Philip Wright, the former vice president of distribution operations for Appalachian Power; and Carlos Torres, who retired from his position as vice president of emergency preparedness and business resilience at Consolidated Edison. They discuss best practices and pitfalls to avoid when making the transition from working for utility companies to making their own way in the consulting world. 

Faces of the Future, Part 4: Featuring Melissa Dawe of Connect Atlantic Utility Services

Our Faces of the Future podcast series continues with Melissa Dawe, an apprentice lineworker for Connect Atlantic Utility Services in Canada. She first discovered the trade as a traffic controller when she saw the Nova Scotia Power line crews in action. After enrolling in a Utility Line Work Construction and Maintenance course at a community college, she joined her local union and pursued a career in the trade.

As a fourth-year apprentice, she is now looking forward to earning her journeyman ticket and inspiring the next generation of women lineworkers.

To learn more about Melissa, check out her profile in T&D World magazine as part of our Faces of the Future department or look for the article, "Lighting the Way for the Line Trade" in our September 2024 Lineworker Supplement.

ICYMI: Winds of Change for St. Lucia's Electric Grid

The May 2024 cover story of T&D World, "The Winds of Change for St. Lucia's Electric Grid," is now an audio story in our In Case You Missed It series for the Line Life podcast. In the article, Randall Wood and Mike Allison of Power Engineers, Inc. describe the major hurricanes that have hit the region in the past and then share how St. Lucia Electricity Services Ltd. (LUCELEC) is focusing on grid resiliency and reliability when faced with bigger and stronger storms. Click here to read the article online. 

Faces of the Future, Part 3: Featuring Josh Hohenberg of Evergy

For Part 3 of our Faces of the Future series for the T&D World Line Life Podcast, we are shining the spotlight on Joshua Hohenberg, apprentice lineworker at Evergy. He started out his career as a superintendent carpenter before launching his career in the line trade on the contractor side. He then  walked on for a Boot Camp at Evergy to get his foot in the door. During this episode, he shares the story about restoring power following a tornado, when roofs were ripped off from homes. He also talks about the day in his life as an apprentice for Evergy and how he's learning how to be safe and productive in the field.