T&D World, which produces the Line Life Podcast, just launched a brand new podcast--the T&D World Podcast--to focus on the rest of the audience served by the magazine. Because one of the recent episodes is about line work, we are excited to share it with our Line Life Podcast listeners. This bonus episode features an interview between Christina Marsh, senior editor of T&D World magazine, and Alan Drew, a technical consultant for Northwest Lineman College and the author of The American Lineman and Spanning the Straight.

During the episode, Alan talks about his career in the line trade. He also discusses the history of line work and how construction methods, materials, safety and tools have evolved over the decades.

To listen to past episodes of the T&D World Podcast and Line Life Podcast, go to the T&D World podcast page. You can also learn about new episodes that are being released by subscribing to the Energizing and Lineman Life enewsletters. Thanks for listening and subscribing to our podcasts!

Transformer trips are a common problem, but the solution is sometimes not immediately obvious. This audio story, narrated from the April 2025 cover story of T&D World's print magazine, shares three stories from the field from Mose Ramieh of CBS Field Services. These examples illustrate that regardless of the complexity of the situation and system, it is often the simplest of solutions that is the hardest to find. Listen to the episode to hear the three mysteries: "Two Trips, One Input," "Blame it On the Rain" and "A Mind of Its Own."

For more information, you can read the full story, "Mysterious Transformer Trips," on the T&D World website or look for the article in the April 2025 issue of the print magazine. Also, if you have any stories about new technologies or projects underway at your utility that you'd like to share in our magazine or on this podcast, email Amy Fischbach, Field Editor for T&D World magazine and host of the Line Life Podcast.

To continue to provide resilient, safe and reliable power to its 1.4 million customers on the island, LUMA Energy has trained specialized lineworkers in Human External Cargo (HEC) work methods. This allows the trained lineworkers to access infrastructure in mountainous terrain, and the utility to place materials near work sites on the island.

At the heart of this program is José Luis Campos Figueroa, director of operations aviation for LUMA Energy. After serving in the National Guard and spending 30 years in the industry, he now works to train and supervise his team at LUMA. Recently, the workers engaged in a training program, in partnership with Volo Mission, to practice aerial rescue techniques and learn how to respond to emergencies.

Pilots and 18 transmission field workers across the island earned certification to perform rescues in remote areas. In addition, LUMA collaborated with the fire department to train the participants in aerial firefighting to protect transmission towers and critical power lines. They also learned helicopter safety during the training program. To learn more, look for a future feature article in T&D World magazine.

T&D World has shared stories of construction projects and best practices for decades to help its readers and subscribers to discover innovative work methods and technologies. For the cover story of the February 2025 print magazine, we featured the article, "Dominion Powers Through Tough Terrain."

A narrated version of the article is now part of our ICYMI series on the Line Life Podcast platform. The audio story shares how the utility overcame numerous challenges while rebuilding its Mt. Storm to Valley line. For example, the construction team faced access challenges due to extreme mountainous terrain, limited roads and multiple stream crossings. Other issues included environmental mitigation and changing regulations. During the project, the crews replaced more than 260 structures in remote terrain.

Bobby Capehart and Matthew Vinson of Dominion Energy Inc. authored the article, which is also available on the T&D World website. If you have comments on this article or thoughts on other stories we should narrate for our ICYMI series, please email Amy Fischbach, host of the Line Life Podcast and Field Editor for T&D World magazine.

T&D Talk is a special series on the T&D World Line Life podcast channel. For each episode, companies can share their stories about how they are supporting the electric utility industry. Through their tools, technologies, products and services, they are helping lineworkers and fieldworkers improve their productivity and safety.

For Part 1 of our new three-part series sponsored by Southwire, we are featuring the episode, “Empowering DEMCO: The Role of Southwire’s Data Analytics in Grid Management.” It features two guests: Mark Phillips, chief engineering and operations officer for Dixie Electric Membership Corporation (DEMCO), a member-owned, Louisiana-based electric cooperative and Ray Kasten, vice president of digital solutions for Southwire.

Southwire's data analytics platform has become an indispensable tool for DEMCO, particularly for measuring and enhancing grid performance. By leveraging advanced analytics, DEMCO can gain insights into various aspects of grid operations, from identifying potential issues to optimizing performance. This proactive approach helps maintain a reliable and efficient grid, ensuring that customers receive uninterrupted service.

To learn more about the episode, visit the T&D World podcast page.

This Line Life Podcast episode highlights the 25-year career of Jon Backman, an IBEW journeyman lineworker, troubleman for Puget Sound Energy and founder of Making Connections, LLC. The graduate of Northwest Lineman College started in the line trade in the utility line clearance program before joining an apprenticeship program at a municipality in Washington State. When he topped out as a journeyman, he worked as a lineworker for a PUD in Washington State and then moved to Puget Sound Energy to work as a troubleman or electric first responder. In his current role, he responds to storms and outages and serves his community.

To learn more about Jon, read his profile in the April 2025 Lineworker Focus department and his article about RFI troubleshooting coming up in T&D World's May 2025 Electric Utility Operations section. If you know of a journeyman lineworker we should consider profiling in Lineworker Focus and have as a guest on our Line Life Podcast, email me at amyfischbach@gmail.com. Also, listen and subscribe to the Line Life Podcast at linelife.podbean.com to become part of our community.

Our latest episode in our In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) series takes us to New York, where the New York Power Authority (NYPA) is streamlining its maintenance program with AI technology to detect anomalies and prioritize tasks in the field.

This article, which was originally published in the March 2025 issue of T&D World magazine, explores how the utility is using drones and cameras to capture visual data, which is then analyzed by AI-driven computer vision technology. This technology expedites inspections by analyzing vast numbers of images quickly to detect issues, said Atena Darvishi, R&D director for NYPA.

To learn more about the technology, stay tuned to the T&D World website to read the full article online. You can also check out another narrated story in our ICYMI series about NYPA: "Line Monitoring, New York Style" on our Line Life Podcast platform. Also, if your utility is using technology in an innovative way, we want to hear about it. Email Field Editor Amy Fischbach with your story of how your utility is improving safety and productivity in the field through the use of technology. Thanks for listening and subscribing to the Line Life Podcast!

For Part 8 of our Faces of the Future podcast series, we are highlighting Luis Gutierrez, an underground apprentice for ComEd in Chicago. During the episode, Luis describes what it's like to work in manholes as part of the underground crew, how he is learning new skills at ComEd's underground training center and what he sees in the future for the line trade. He also shares his safety strategies while working underground and tips for success in an apprenticeship.

To learn more about Luis, check out the March 2024 Faces of the Future department in T&D World magazine. If you'd like to nominate an apprentice lineworker for the Faces of the Future department and related podcast series, send an email to amyfischbach@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!