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Tag: lineworkers

Outage Restoration Process

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Latest News, Livewire.

What really happens when the lights go out

July 1, 2024

Ever wondered how power gets restored after an outage? Let’s take a closer look at what happens behind the scenes:

  1. Teamwork: From frontline representatives to field operatives, everyone works together to get the power restored as quickly and safely as possible.
  2. Assessment: Each time the power goes out, crews take a good look to see what’s broken and figure out the best way to fix it.
  3. Safety First: Safety is always the top priority. Crews make sure to watch out for anything that could cause harm.
  4. Understanding Flickering Lights: Flickering lights indicate that our equipment is working to prevent bigger problems.
  5. Being Prepared: If you rely on power for life support purposes, you must have a backup plan in case the power stays out longer than expected. We encourage Members to complete our Life-Sustaining Equipment Form, which is available on our website at trico.coop/outages.
  6. Working Together: Our portion of the power grid is connected to other electric utilities, so we maintain positive relationships with other power providers to get things back to normal as quickly as possible.

Restoring power is a group effort aimed at your safety and keeping your electricity running smoothly. We’re dedicated to doing our best for you. So, when the lights go out, rest assured we’re diligently working to restore your power and provide you with uninterrupted service.


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Apprentice Lineworkers Participate in State Rodeo

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Latest News, Livewire.

Apprentice Lineworkers show off their skills at the state rodeo

January 1, 2024

Congratulations to our Apprentice Lineworkers Anthony Anaya, Colby Brown, Conor Garcia, Tyler Hornung, Martin Mares, Troy Mead and Matt Ward for their effort at the Arizona Lineworkers Rodeo hosted by Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative (SSVEC) November 7–8 in Benson.

The competition put 43 lineworkers through a series of challenges, beginning with a written test assessing their knowledge before heading outdoors. The hurt-man rescue drill is designed to emulate an on-site emergency where a lineworker lowers a fellow lineworker, a victim played by a life-size dummy.

There’s a technical obstacle course, a mystery event, and two team events, to install an overhead secondary, and cross‑arm change‑out. All events are designed to reinforce fundamental skills, safety, and challenge the resourcefulness of each apprentice.

Tyler finished third overall in individual events. Colby had the fastest time in the Mystery Event and placed fourth in the Obstacle Course. Conor and Colby finished third and fourth respectively in the Hurt-Man Rescue. Team Trico also placed well in the team events.

“The State Rodeo this year was great,” Martin said. “Having all seven apprentices there was a huge help, from helping each other out on events, letting each other know what to look for on the mystery event and having them there cheering each other on was a great experience.”

Martin’s favorite event was hurt-man rescue. “Having this event in the rodeo makes us work on our climbing and perfecting our rescue also,” he said. 

We are proud to see our Apprentice Lineworkers’ commitment to safety, learning and serving our Members. Great work, team Trico!

Hector Acuna of The Herald Review contributed to this story.

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Apprentices Gain Experience at Lineman’s Rodeo

Written by mlitwicki on . Posted in Livewire.

Apprentices Gain Experience at Lineman’s Rodeo

January 24, 2023

Apprentice linemen Tyler Hornung, Martin Mares and Shem Scott had a great time learning and competing against apprentices from other state electric cooperatives and utilities at the Arizona Lineman Rodeo in November.

The Lineman Rodeo is an event created to offer lineworkers a way to showcase their pride in their profession. The event is composed of volunteers devoted to the promotion of educational and electrical safety activities, including, but not limited to, the continued education of lineworkers, building relationships of trust, teaching teamwork techniques, sharing of ideas to bring innovation to the industry, and networking that will foster better working relationships between utilities. Martin said the Lineman Rodeo was a great experience. “I met a lot of apprentices at different steps of the apprenticeship. It was great camaraderie.”

Martin said his favorite events were the Hurtman Rescue and the Obstacle Course. He said both events make you a better climber. “The Hurtman Rescue makes you practice over and over on what needs to be done if you ever need to rescue someone hurt on the pole. The obstacle course helps you find what works better for you on installing or replacing material on the pole.”

Crew leader Jeremy Konski, who volunteered as a judge for the rodeo, said Tyler, Martin and Shem did well for their first rodeo. “Overall, it was a great experience, and we look forward to next year,” he said.

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