April 17, 2026

Public power utilities celebrate local lineworkers on national appreciation day

Member Utilities

The 51 public power utilities that make up WPPI Energy’s membership are celebrating their local lineworkers April 18 as part of National Lineworker Day, which is marked annually throughout the country to honor the hard work of utility employees who spend each day maintaining and repairing their local electric grid.

“The work line crews do for their community is essential,” said Chris Chartier, assistant vice president of Distribution Services for WPPI. “People trust them to keep the lights on in homes and businesses every day.”

Lineworkers are often the first at the scene of an emergency, working quickly to eliminate the risk of electrocution for emergency responders and for those in need of help. In a catastrophic event, they are always in the background making conditions safer.

Not only do they risk their own safety for that of others during emergencies, they deal with high voltage lines in their everyday duties while hundreds of feet off the ground on a pole or in a bucket lift. They demonstrate physical strength and agility as they climb poles and dig trenches, and wear equipment weighing up to 45 pounds. Lineworkers are prepared for outages at any time, whether caused by a squirrel chewing through wires in the early morning hours or a car accident in the middle of the night.

“Everyone can count on lineworkers to be there first thing, no matter what they’re going to face when they respond,” Chartier said. “That kind of dedication to reliability and service is why we have this day to express our appreciation for everything they do.”