After working many years as a Journeyman Lineman, I was promoted to lead lineman about 2 years ago. In this role, I lead a 3-man or make permanent crew, which includes a journeyman lineman and operator. You will see in the General Manager's Message in the October Newsletter, that Doug outlines the difference between a 3-man crew and a heavy crew.
Most of the work my crew does is to make temporary electric services permanent. We also do “line drops” when needed. Usually, line drops are needed when a member or tree contractor is trimming trees and needs power turned off so they can complete their work safely. My crew’s smaller size also allows us to be more mobile than a heavy crew, so we are often the first to be sent out on outages. A heavy crew may be setting a pole or working near a road with traffic flaggers, making it challenging for them to leave a job.
Tell us about the make permanent process.
New construction projects begin with a temporary electric service. You may have seen this when a new house is being built, it includes a temporary pole and meter. Once the house construction is nearly complete, the builder or contractor contacts KEC to request permanent service. That’s when my crew gets involved. We go to the site and install conduit from the transformer to the meter on the house. With all the building and growth in our area, my crew stays very busy with this work—even in the winter.