The Future of Power Line Work: Careers, Transitions, and Industry Insights

Every year, a wave of lineworkers hangs up their hooks and retires from the line trade, opening spots for those trained to fill their work boots. From 2023 to 2033, about 10,700 new power line repairers and installers will be in demand due to the 8% growth rate in employment over the decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The average age of lineworkers is 41, which represents 55 percent of the journeyman lineworker population, according to Zippia. While journeyman lineworkers often retire at 65 years old, many choose to opt for early retirement as young as 55 years old with an actuarially reduced pension if they are vested. 

For example, Robert Padgett, a first-class lineman, International Lineman Hall of Famer and owner of Padgett Poleline, worked for almost 31 years for Lakeland Electric and has no regrets.

“I actually retired young enough at the age of 55 to go out and do some things I had not had the opportunity to do previously,” he said. “I took four months off before starting my next chapter.” 

After decades of powering their communities, however, many journeyman lineworkers don’t want to leave the line life behind. For example, they may transition into other roles such as consultants, line instructors, small business owners, storm support specialists or volunteers for the International Lineman’s Rodeo Association (ILRA). 

Here are the stories of a few of these lineworkers and how they are still making a difference in the line trade. They reflect on their careers in the industry and talk about how they are now continuing to support the line trade. 

From Florida Lineworker to Business Owner

Padgett, a journeyman lineworker who joined Lakeland Electric in 1988, came from a background of welding and fabrication. The more he learned about the line trade, the more interested he became in a future career on the line.

“Lakeland Electric started their own training program that year, and I was fortunate enough to be one of the first apprentices to go through the four-year program,” he said. 

Early on, he worked for some “old school linemen” who were hard on him and even harder to get to know. When he did earn their trust, however, they would take the time to teach him the skills of the line trade. 

“I feel like most linemen are only willing to teach those who are interested in the trade and want to learn,” he said. “Many of these men I still visit today just to talk of the early part of their careers and to hear how it used to be done — especially those about working off the pole.” 

During his career, he said he learned how to perform line work without the use of bucket trucks and specialized machines.

“We had about 88,000 poles on our system, and about 12,000 you couldn’t get trucks to,” Padgett said. “We didn’t have any back-lot machines then, and I can proudly say to this day, I have never worked out of one. I got to do a ton of that work, and we did most of it energized.” 

He said hot boards and hot sticks may be a lost art in some areas of the United States, but they were commonly used at Lakeland Electric as long as he was on the crew. 

“We did some reconductoring of three-phase easements with no outages as well as many three-phase pole replacements — good times right there,” he said. 

When he looks back at his career, he said his first storm work was in 1992 for Hurricane Andrew. 

“I have worked many, many storms since, but none have compared to the amount of devastation we encountered there,” he said. “There weren’t many homes left to run power to.”

Fast forward to 2004, and Lakeland Electric was hit with three hurricanes in six weeks with the last one causing outages to 95,000 of the utility’s 105,000 customers. It took six weeks for the line crews to restore power to the last customer. Then in 2012, Lakeland Electric’s crews traveled to Long Island, New York, following Super Storm Sandy.

“Many of our linemen had never seen snow, let alone worked in it, and it was quite an experience,” he said. 

Since his “so-called retirement,” he has worked several more storms in the Big Apple.

“The way I look at it, the crews come from all over the United States to help us after hurricanes, so it’s only right for us to go help them,” he said. “In the past six years, I have worked from the banks of Lake Ontario as far west as Houston, through the swamps of Louisiana and as far south as Key West. I have nothing but good memories from those journeys.” 

Now, as the owner of Padgett Poleline, he has had the opportunity to work on some transmission projects, and he said he has learned a lot.

“I thought I had done some transmission in my first career, but the big stuff that is out there is amazing,” he said. 

In his current role, he has been fortunate enough to do more back-lot work, barehand work, and some hot stick and helicopter work. One day, however, he was approached and asked if he wanted to share some of the things he had learned with the new generation of lineworkers. At that point in time, he had not thought much about teaching others about the trade, but he did have experience with training while working at Lakeland Electric. 

“I was just out having fun and seeing the country,” he said. “I am still working storms when the phone rings, but I am currently doing training for many of the municipalities here in Florida. It has actually been very rewarding when I run across some apprentices who are generally interested in line work, and I truly feel like I’m making a positive impact on this great trade.” 

Last year, Padgett had six W-2 forms, and he swore he would slow down this year. Instead, he is helping to move the International Lineman’s Museum from Shelby, North Carolina, to Leesburg, Florida, which has kept him busy.  Also on the property will be the Fallen Lineman Organization, which will have a bronze statue to memorialize fallen lineworkers.

“It pays tribute to the linemen who have paid the ultimate sacrifice in serving this great trade,” he said. 

The museum displays will begin with the telegraph system and then move into an introduction of the telephone linemen and catenary work. In addition, the museum will honor the U.S. military, like the Army Signal Corps and Navy Seabees, who have been instrumental in building power and communications lines to protect troops abroad since World War II. Other items on display will be artifacts and insulators from the Civil War and the mining of copper from the 1800s all the way up to modern-day tools and technologies. 

“This will be a one-of-a-kind experience that recognizes the history of the trade like no one ever has,” he said. “It’s really going to be quite an experience when we get it up and running. We welcome those who are interested in the preservation of the trade to contact us and hopefully help with donations, both historically and monetarily.”

Training the Future Field Workforce

The electric utility industry has come a long way since the first commercial distribution of electric power started in 1882 with electric lighting, said Randy Beckes, a lead instructor at Utilitrain with 48 years of experience in the line trade. Electric utilities are now experiencing some of the fastest employment growth compared to employment across traditional industry sectors. 

“In 1977, I started my career in the line trade,” said Beckes, who started in the trade as a groundman with Gulf States Utilities in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, before working his way up from an apprentice to journeyman lineworker to safety director. “Since that time, there have been many changes, especially within the last two years. With the ever-increasing need for electric service nationwide, the need for qualified lineworkers has also increased.” 

To ensure the safety of crews as well as the reduction of injuries in the electric utility industry, Beckes became a lineworker trainer in 1988. Over the years, he expanded his skills to include specialized live-line training, including hot sticking and rubber gloving. During his career, he has trained thousands of lineworkers throughout the United States as well as 39 countries around the world.     

After recognizing the need for professional training for lineworkers, he opened a training school for lineworkers in 2000 in Georgia and then focused on live-line training. Then, while training AUI Power in Maryland during the summer of 2022, Beckes discovered a need for a lineman school in the Mid-Atlantic region. A few months later, one of the owners of AUI Power responded positively about building a school, and two years later, Utilitrain became a reality.

In January 2023, Utilitrain was born, with the mission of training the next generation of lineworkers by providing hands-on, real-world training during the 15-week training program.

The Utilitrain facility spans 38 acres and includes training simulators, administration offices, student classrooms and break rooms, bucket trucks, digger derrick trucks and a crane. Field training features a pole circle and single three-phase lines as well as underground transformers. Students learn how to climb poles, operate a digger derrick and bucket aerial truck and install line hardware, poles, crossarms, conductors (primary and secondary) and transformers. 

Beckes said he is honored to share his extensive knowledge and years of experience with the students at Utilitrain.

“When creating and building the programs here at the school, our team's goal was to help the utility industry by providing quality lineworkers,” Beckes said. “I have seen how this invaluable training has changed the lives of so many, and it does my heart good to see the students succeed and prosper as a result of our training.” 

From Powering the U.S. Military to Volunteering for the ILRA

Rustin Owen hailed from a family of lineworkers with his father, cousin and great uncle all in the line trade. He completed all his training in the U.S. military and attended a joint school for the Air Force, Navy and Army for his initial training. Before retiring from the U.S. Army, he was part of the team that built the U.S. Army Power Line Distribution Course at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

“The feeling of accomplishment from building a course that has continued since I left the Army is a great one,” he said. 

Most of his career in the military was working worldwide to provide power to the warfighter from 2003 to 2016. During that time, he was able to respond to many outages and provide power to cool down warfighters in the deserts of the world. He also remembered troubleshooting an underground fault during a mortar attack. 

“The best feeling is always restoring power in times it is knocked out,” he said. “Working on storms and getting power back to those whose lives were interrupted by power outages is a great feeling.”

For example, he helped to restore power to the island of American Samoa after a tsunami. He also responded to an ice storm in Kentucky, which eventually led to flooding due to increasing temperatures.

“It was a nonstop repair of the same circuits and poles back-to-back,” he recalled. 

After retiring from the Army, he worked as a safety coordinator for American Electric Power (AEP) for six years alongside line crews during storms. Today, in his job position with Salisbury, he gets out in the field with lineworkers to ensure they have what they need as far as tools and safety equipment. In this role, he answers questions about products and how to use them and educates lineworkers about standards and testing. 

“This job keeps me connected since I have transitioned out of line work, so I really enjoy the ability to continue to be connected to lineworkers in the field,” he said. “Having a way to stay connected has been key, as my family has retired from the line trade, but we still have lots of conversations about how things are going for linemen today and how safety has become a lot better.”

He said while it’s been difficult to learn the business side of things and spend time on a computer, he still enjoys getting out, attending events, and visiting crews around the nation. 

“I still watch outages and try to keep up with friends as they go out on a storm,” Owen said.

From 2005 to today, he has also been involved in the International Lineman’s Rodeo. While in the U.S. Army, he had the opportunity to compete in the event, and after retiring from the military, he now volunteers on the safety conference committee for the International Lineman’s Rodeo Association (ILRA) and as a First Aid and safety coordinator on the Rodeo grounds. In his volunteer position, his responsible for working with a team to build a valuable safety and training conference and organize a safe competition year after year. 

“Every year I attend the Rodeo is a memorable one,” he said. “Being able to continue being part of the ILRA is a huge thing I love, and I will continue to do it as long as I can. Making friends around the nation and seeing them every year has been one of the most memorable things of my career and what I look forward to many more times in the future.”

He encourages other lineworkers who have retired from the trade to consider volunteering for the ILRA. 

 “You get to see a family of lineworkers every year and see how the trade is moving in terms of equipment, safety and the next generations of lineworkers,” he said. “Staying connected to the trade by the ILRA is a great way I have been able to follow my passion of line work. It is a great experience and a great week every year.”

Working Storms: From the Field to Management

Rick Owens, distribution operations supervisor for TRC Companies, learned about the line trade from a high school friend, who told him about his company — Dallas Power & Light. 

“It sounded like an interesting opportunity,” he said. “Dallas Power & Light provided on-the-job training, and once you have enough experience, you can start climbing poles.” 

From there, he started an apprenticeship program, where he learned about climbing, rigging, tool use, line construction and how electricity works. After completing his internship, he started as a journeyman lineman at Dallas Power & Light, which merged with Texas Power and Light and Tesco to form TXU Electric before being rebranded to Oncor Electric.

He worked as a lineman for 21 years before taking on a role as a troubleshooter and first responder, where he was responsible for power outages, downed lines or equipment failures. He was then promoted to distribution operations technician and in this role, he oversaw five to seven team members at each service center. He then returned to his roots in Dallas as a supervisor at an Oncor service center before moving to Waco, Texas, as the supervisor over three service centers with 35 direct reports. About halfway through his career with Oncor, his daughter started working for the same company and she’s climbed the corporate ladder. 

“I’m very proud of her,” he said.

As a lineworker, some of his most memorable moments were working on home-system or off-system storms.

“After the storm, it’s not just the power that’s gone — it could be water, internet and access to food or medicine. We aren’t just turning the lights back on. We’re restoring people’s livelihoods and helping bring their lives back to normal. That’s the part of the job I really enjoyed.”

For example, when Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico in September 2017, it wasn’t just a storm — it was a full-scale infrastructure collapse, he said. 

“The Category 4 hurricane obliterated the island’s aging electrical grid,” he said. “Utility trucks couldn’t just roll in from neighboring states. Everything had to be shipped in by sea or flown in. We drove our trucks and gear to Lake Charles, where it was sent by barges, which took over a week to arrive. The remote, mountainous regions were very hard to reach. Power lines were wiped out for miles. It would take over an hour to drive up narrow mountain roads, which was a challenge for our trucks to squeeze by.”

The line crews encountered several communities that had been without power for three months before they arrived. 

“Once we restored power, these mountain communities would tell us their stories,” he said. “Many of them used small generators to power schools, but children were reading and writing in the dark for months. Because of the infrastructure, some places haven’t had electricity since the 1980s. The Puerto Ricans are a resilient people. I befriended a man about my age who would cook for us every day without electricity or anything. He was so proud.”

Within a few weeks of retiring from Oncor in Waco, he discovered opportunities at TRC and began working full-time for them. In his role, he spends his day checking emails, making phone calls and directing the field team's work to where they are most needed. He is primarily responsible for managing field technicians responsible for helping with broadband expansion. For example, when a company wants to attach fiber cables to a utility pole, his crews measure the pole height and clearances, determine attachment placement and inspect for integrity.

“We are basically designing in the field,” he said. 

The lineworkers use SPIDA Systems for pole design and structural analysis to generate reports to determine if the pole needs to be changed out before fiber can be added. Once fiber is attached, the crews go back to ensure everything is working correctly.

“The biggest transition is in the area of safety,” he said. “Electrocution and bucket trucks used to be my top concern. Today, it’s driving conditions, aggressive dogs, distracted traffic, and of course, the most common — slips, trips and falls.”

He said the most challenging part of his job is finding new business.

“I’m used to being out in the field,” he said. “Stepping on a trade show floor or knocking on doors is unfamiliar territory for me.”

He now has 22 direct reports, and his motto is to treat everyone with respect. 

“The favorite part of my job is making sure my team has what they need to succeed — whether that’s equipment or proper gear. When I can remove obstacles and get them the right tools, I feel like I’m making a difference. When you take care of the little things for your employees, it gives them a sense of pride in the company. That’s when the job really feels meaningful.” 

SMUD Supervisor to California Consultant

Back in 1984, Max Fuentes’ friend asked him if he was interested in becoming a lineman, and he was hired on at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) as a pre-apprentice. After completing his apprenticeship, he was promoted to a journeyman four years later. 

He now brings a wealth of on-the-job experience to his new role as the owner of Fuentes Consulting, LLC, in Carmichael, California. For example, after working as a journeyman lineman and line foreman, he moved to Idaho to serve as the chief field instructor and vice president of Northwest Lineman College. He then moved back to Sacramento to serve as the president of Trade Tech, a lineman vocational school. In 2002, he returned to SMUD as a journeyman lineworker and then was promoted to supervisor of safety and training, supervisor of meter and service crew, supervisor over crew scheduling and supervisor of asset management. He retired as the grid assets line supervisor for business operations in 2015.

“I loved working on heavy construction crews and capital projects, both on the transmission and distribution side,” Fuentes said. 

In addition to working in the field, he also loved competing at the International Lineman’s Rodeo. Case in point: he was a member of a winning team five times with three times as the top team in the municipal division and twice as the top team in the contractor division. His team has also won the hurt man rescue twice and various other rubber glove and hot stick events. Since then, he has returned to speak at the Safety and Training Conference about leadership in the line trade during the International Lineman’s Rodeo Week. 

Like the other lineworkers at the Rodeo, he has worked his share of storms. For example, in the winter of 1995, SMUD experienced multiple days of wind and rain, and trees took out a lot of lines, backyard transformers, pole sets and reconductoring. One of his most memorable weather events, however, was in 1988, when a summer thunderstorm took out about 400 transformers throughout the service area.

“I worked for seven days straight for 16- to 24-hour shifts, climbing poles and replacing transformers,” he said. 

Today he has a consulting business, and he works with utilities and contractors to teach line construction work methods, write procedures, certify hurt man rescue and rubber glove recertifications and write investigative reports. He provides a safety meeting curriculum monthly, so he focuses on doing research and development of his lesson plans and presentations. He also conducts research, writes reports and interacts with lawyers to provide depositions and occasionally testify in trials.

“A lot of my work is as an expert witness,” he said. “I currently have multiple cases spanning all across the country.”

He said transitioning into retirement was a challenge, but he was fortunate to maintain contacts in the industry, do speaking engagements at conferences and be able to slowly grow his business.

“Most of all, I believe the good Lord was watching over me and provided me a path to success after my utility career,” he said.