Coming soon is a date near and dear to our hearts – April 18 is Lineworker Appreciation Day.
Established in 2013 by the 113th Congress, National Lineworker Appreciation Day recognizes lineworkers, their profession and “the contributions of these brave men and women who protect public safety.”
Nearly everything we do requires some level of electricity, whether it’s keeping our homes at a comfortable temperature, charging a phone, or simply turning on the lights. Put simply, the energy grid is the backbone of modern life. There are millions of miles of power lines throughout the United States, and about 120,000 lineworkers who build and maintain that infrastructure. At I&M, hundreds of lineworkers maintain more than 20,000 miles of power lines.
These men and women perform one of the most dangerous jobs in the country. They carry out their work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in every weather condition imaginable. Their everyday efforts and dedication are most visible when severe weather strikes.
To date this year, we have experienced outages due to repeated storms across Indiana and Michigan, including ice, thunderstorms and even tornadoes that required the expertise of lineworkers to restore power. Our crews have also assisted other parts of the country following hurricanes, massive snowstorms and other extreme conditions. I&M’s lineworkers, and a large support team of tree trimming experts, damage assessors, engineers, supply chain staff, safety personnel and more, work up to 16-hour shifts to serve communities and restore power.
We thank these hardworking men and women for the sacrifices they and their families make to ensure we all have the electricity we need to power our lives. If you would like to share your thanks with the lineworkers that serve your area, you can send them a message here.