The powerline industry is entering a new era, shaped by the rise of smart grid technologies. These tools raise important questions. How will these innovations impact the job and how do line workers adapt to make the work safer and more efficient?

In this sponsored episode, managing editor Jeff Postelwait chats with Lea Maurer (Business Development Director at S&C Electric Company) about the push for more reliable, resilient power, and why utilities are turning to new technologies to modernize the grid.

This episode is sponsored by S&C Electric

By leveraging the power of AI, electric utilities nationwide are discovering ways to improve the efficiency and safety of their field crews. For example, the Grid Operations team at Southern California Edison (SCE) launched the AWARE system two years ago to mitigate outages, expedite restoration and improve productivity for the field workforce.

Listen to the narrated version of the October 2025 cover story to learn how the AWARE system monitors the health of the grid and alerts crews to early-stage faults. SCE and Edison International recently won the electric power industry's highest honor: the Edison Award from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) for the AWARE technology.

If your utility is using technology in an innovative way, we'd love to hear from you. Email Amy Fischbach, Head of Content for T&D World and the host of the Line Life podcast, to put your utility in the spotlight.

Brandon Wylie, who was inducted into the International Lineman Hall of Fame in 2023, is the guest for Part 2 of our Hall of Famers series. He has more than 27 years of experience in the power line industry and currently serves as a regional director of training for Quanta Services in the Southeast. In this role, he leads workforce development, safety and leadership training initiatives across multiple operating companies.

Before joining Quanta, he served as vice president of apprenticeships with Northwest Lineman College (NLC) and director of training and safety at Electric Cities of Georgia, where he spent more than 15 years designing and leading training programs for lineworkers and safety professionals.

He has served as a chair of the APPA Safety Committee, vice chair of the National Association of Journeyman Linemen and a board member of the International Lineman's Museum and Hall of Fame. He's a certified utility safety professional, and he's proud to be a second-generation lineman. He's also the writer of "Highline Cowboy," a song inspired by his life as a lineman that was later featured in "Storm Soldiers" and "Life on the Line," starring John Travolta.

Listen to this episode to hear the excerpt of the song and learn about his life and career in the line trade. Also, tune in to Part 1 of this series featuring Robert Padgett, who retired from Lakeland Electric before starting Padgett Poleline.

Every year, we try to feature a storm-related article in our annual T&D World Lineworker Supplement. The article, "Extreme Storms," pays tribute to the line crews who worked long hours on the line to restore power and rebuild infrastructure in the wake of severe storms in their service territories.

This audio story shines the spotlight on three major storms: a bomb cyclone in Washington, a historic ice storm in Michigan and tornadoes in Missouri and Illinois. Consumers Energy, Puget Sound Energy and Ameren Illinois and Missouri shared their best practices following these storms and how their line crews got the lights back on swiftly and safely.

If you're interested in more storm coverage, you can also listen to the recent two-part Line Life Podcast series on Hurricane Helene: One Year Later on Podbean. You can also email Amy Fischbach to share your story about your company's storm response in T&D World magazine.

The new location for the International Lineman's Museum and Hall of Fame may still be underway in Florida, but Journeyman Lineman Robert Padgett has been collecting historical tools and artifacts throughout his 31 years in the trade. During this episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast, we kick off the New Year by featuring a new series showcasing Padgett and others inducted into the Lineman Hall of Fame.

Padgett started working for Lakeland Electric in 1988 in Lakeland, Florida, before founding Padget Poleline. He has trained hundreds of apprentices throughout his career, and he is dedicated to preserving the history of line work. He has also been competing at the International Lineman's Rodeo for years and was instrumental in starting the Florida Lineman's Rodeo.

To learn more about his career in the line trade and how he is giving back by serving on the museum's board of directors, listen to the audio story "Life After the Line," narrated from the 2025 T&D World Lineworker Supplement. You can also check out the website to read all the profiles of all those inducted into the Hall of Fame since 2006 and tune in to the Oct. 4, 2024, Line Life Podcast episode featuring Andy Price, the founder of the International Lineman's Museum.

If you want to nominate someone who has made notable contributions to the line trade and the electric utility industry, click here to find out more about the induction process. Thanks for tuning in to the Line Life Podcast, and go to Podbean to learn how to subscribe so you can listen to other parts of this series.

For our third and final part of our series on safeguarding mental health in the line trade, we are featuring the how-to sidebars from the article, "Prioritizing the Mental Health of First Responders."

Discover ways to focus on your well-being, look out for your crew members, and heal following a near-miss or a tragedy by listening to this Line Life Podcast episode.

While you're on Podbean, also check out Part 1, featuring a narrated version of the full article in our ICYMI series and Part 2, which includes an interview with Jenny Lavin, the founder and CEO of Union Care Solutions.

Stay safe out there, lineworkers, and enjoy the holiday season with your loved ones!

For Part 2 of our Line Life Podcast series on mental health in the line trade, we are featuring an interview with Jennifer Lavin, the founder of Union Care Solutions, which supports mental health and peer support across the power industry.

She was featured in the article "Prioritizing the Mental Health of First Responders" in the 2025 T&D World Lineworker Supplement. Jenny also delivered the presentation, "Protection Under the Hard Hat: Mental Health and Safety in the Line Trade," at the 2025 International Lineman's Safety and Training Conference.

She has deep roots in the line trade. Two of her sons are fourth-generation lineworkers, and her father-in-law was the business manager for IBEW Local 47, and her husband is now in this role. As the CEO of Union Care Solutions, she is an advocate for critical incident response and suicide prevention. Her mission is to make care and connection part of the job — not an afterthought. For more information, visit her website, and if you or your coworkers need someone to talk to, call 988 to be connected to local mental health resources.

To listen to Part 1, which is a narrated version of the article from the 2025 Lineworker Supplement in our ICYMI series, go to Podbean. Also look for Part 3, which provides strategies and resources to help you get the support you need.

Line work is one of the most dangerous jobs in America, with fatality rates in the line trade more than six times those in all other occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. To come home safely to their families every night, lineworkers must not only follow safe work practices and wear proper personal protective equipment, but also safeguard their mental health. Oftentimes, lineworkers experience a near-miss themselves or the loss of a coworker, and the toll can be complete self-destruction, said Ken Lulow of Line Worker Solutions. Rather than trying to self-cope and hold it all in, they can reach out for help from their coworkers, company and community mental health professionals.

This episode, narrated from the article "Prioritizing the Mental Health of First Responders" in the 2025 T&D World Lineworker Supplement, delves beneath the surface of safety in the line trade to offer six strategies to help lineworkers focus on their mental health and wellness.

For more information, stay tuned to Part 2, which will feature an interview with Jenny Lavin, founder of Union Care Solutions and Part 3, which will offer more tips on how to break the silence on mental health struggles and get help. Line Life Podcast listeners in the United States can also dial "988" to be immediately connected to local resources in their community. Thanks for listening and sharing this special episode.