Are You Celebrating National Lineman Appreciation Day?

April 18 is National Lineman Appreciation Day in the US. No, I’m not talking about the hulking linemen of your favorite football team; I’m talking about the men and women at utilities that are out in the field doing the dirty work—ensuring that the energy we rely on every day is steadily delivered with minimal disruption.

According to the Linemen at a Glance page on the National Lineman Appreciation Day website, there are approximately 115,000 line workers in the US who service 9 million miles of wire. At that scale, the job already sounds daunting, but a July 2018 Business Insider article The 34 Most Dangerous Jobs in America, placed electrical power-line installers and repairers as one of the most dangerous jobs in America, tied with police and sheriff’s patrol officers, due to the risks involved in working with a live electrical current.

Depending on the territory or situation, linemen can be called to work at any hour of the day, often in hazardous conditions—especially during an outage or inclement weather event. And while people may occasionally see linemen working near their home or office, they often take for granted the steady flow of electricity they enjoy daily without thinking about the work that goes into making it possible.

That’s why every April 18 utilities across the country take to their social channels with the #thankalineman hashtag to show their appreciation for the hard work, dedication, and commitment to safety that linemen show every day. Here, we offer just a few examples of how utlities celebrate, and if you haven’t already, we encourage you to show your line workers the appreciation they deserve.