Line Life Podcast

Hosted by Endeavor Business Media

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Episodes

172

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

Whether you are on the road to a job site or storm restoration effort or relaxing after a long workday, you can listen to stories about storm restoration efforts, best practices in line work and the men and women in the line trade. You will also have the opportunity to share your comments on topics covered in the podcasts.

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60 recent

August 28, 2026Episode 14812 min

ICYMI: The Life-and-Death Value of Safety Oversight

This episode for our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast highlights the life-and-death importance of safety oversight for lineworkers, sharing injury and fatality statistics and explaining how active field oversight reduces risk. This audio story is narrated from an article from the February 2026 issue of T&D World in our field-focused Electric Utility Operations section. In the story, Kirk Coffee, director of client solutions at ATK Energy Group, shares how utilities can implement independent oversight programs to provide an extra layer of protection for their field workforce. To read the full story online, visit the T&D World website . If you have a story you'd like to share with us for publication in T&D World magazine, please email Amy Fischbach, Head of Content for T&D World and host of the Line Life Podcast. We look forward to hearing from you and sharing your stories with our readers and subscribers in our magazine and as part of our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast.

August 21, 2026Episode 14729 min

What Today's Linemen Need to Know: Max Fuentes on Safety and Leadership in the Line Trade

What happens when decades of hard-earned knowledge leave the utility industry faster than it can be passed on? For Part 1 of this two-part Line Life podcast series, Host Amy Fischbach has a conversation with Max Fuentes, owner of Fuentes Consulting. He discusses the state of the line trade — and the lessons he believes today's workforce cannot afford to lose. During this episode, Max takes listeners through his more than four decades in the industry. After retiring in 2015, he transitioned into consulting, safety and training and expert witness work. That experience has given him a unique perspective on how line work has changed and where he believes today's practices may be creating new challenges. For example, as an expert witness, he said he has seen disturbing trends in injuries and fatalities, particularly among younger workers, and he questions whether utilities are doing enough to examine what happens before and after serious incidents. For more information, stay tuned for Part 2 of this series on Podbean or your favorite podcasting app. Also, look for a new article authored by Max in T&D World's field-focused Electric Utility Operations section in the October 2026 issue, soon to be available at tdworld.com .

August 14, 2026Episode 14614 min

ICYMI: ComEd's Advanced Substation Training and Grid Expansion

This ICYMI episode for the Line Life Podcast explores ComEd’s new 2,800-sq-ft Testing and Commissioning Engineering (TCE) lab — a simulated substation control room where engineers train on protection, control and commissioning systems in a realistic, safe environment. The lab accelerates workforce readiness, reinforces safety and troubleshooting skills and supports ComEd’s long-range plan to modernize and expand the grid to meet rising power demands. The story, which went online as "ComEd's Advanced Substation Training and Grid Expansion," was originally published in the March 2026 issue of T&D World magazine as "Empowering Engineers to Work on the Future Grid." To read the article, visit the website . Also, if you would like to share your story of how your utility is training your workforce, please email Amy Fischbach, host of the Line Life Podcast and Head of Content for T&D World. We would love to help you share your story in T&D World and on the Line Life Podcast!

August 7, 2026Episode 14419 min

A Lineman's Life: Leadership, Safety, and Service with James Respeto of Avangrid

James Respeto, lead supervisor, power delivery, for Avangrid. has spent nearly four decades in the electric utility industry, growing from a meter reader into an overhead line supervisor, trainer, mentor and safety leader. In this episode, he reflects on the career that has taken him across North America responding to major storms, rebuilding damaged electrical systems, and helping communities recover after disasters. James discusses what it takes to safely work long restoration shifts, the importance of communication and trust during mutual aid assignments and why every crew member — regardless of experience — has both the responsibility and the authority to speak up about safety. He also shares his passion for mentoring apprentices, supporting ethical leadership within the organization and encouraging his own son to pursue a future in the line trade.

July 31, 2026Episode 14531 min

Bonus Episode: Changing Safety Culture One Conversation at a Time

This week for the Line Life Podcast, we are releasing a bonus episode, originally aired for our sister podcast, T&D World Live. In this episode, Editorial Director Nikki Chandler sits down with Chad Schimpf, Operations Safety Supervisor at Ameren Illinois, to discuss a life-changing incident that transformed both his career and his mission. After spending more than two decades as a lineman, Chad survived a 7,200-V electrical contact that easily could have been fatal. Rather than hiding from the experience, he chose to openly share the decisions that led to the incident and the lessons that followed. Today, he has become one of the utility industry's strongest advocates for safety culture, leadership accountability and honest conversations that prevent serious injuries and fatalities. Chad explains how small shortcuts, overconfidence and the mindset of "that's how we've always done it" can create dangerous conditions — even in organizations with strong safety programs. He reflects on the physical and emotional recovery after the incident, the difficult conversations with his family and coworkers and how his faith helped shape a new purpose focused on helping others avoid similar mistakes. The discussion also explores why leadership plays such a critical role in creating psychological safety, encouraging employees to speak up, investing in ongoing training and building workplace cultures where stopping work or asking for help is viewed as a strength rather than a weakness. To learn more about safety in the line trade, make sure you attend the 2026 International Lineman's Rodeo Safety and Training Conference this October. We look forward to seeing you in Kansas City!

July 24, 2026Episode 14315 min

ICYMI: Cracking the Code Beneath Our Feet: How MUDDI Maps the Underground

Utility strikes cost more than $30 billion annually in the United States alone. This ICYMI episode of the T&D World Line Life Podcast explores how the Model for Underground Data Definition and Integration (MUDDI) and the UK’s National Underground Asset Register (NUAR) are harmonizing underground data to help utilities identify buried pipes and cables, reduce excavation risks and protect their field workforce. To read the article by Scott Simmons of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC), visit the T&D World website.

July 17, 2026Episode 14117 min

From Working on the Line to Supporting Crews in the Field: Featuring Duke Energy's Miles Bell

In the line trade, lineworkers strive to work safely and efficiently, and new tools and technologies help to improve productivity and ensure they get home safely to their families every night. During this episode of the Line Life Podcast, we are featuring guest Miles Bell, a journeyman lineworker with 11 years in the trade, who is now working as a tools and methods specialist. In this role, he supports crews in the field, makes job-site visits and analyzes tools and technologies for lineworkers. He also shares an update on the Hurricane Helene restoration, his lessons learned for storm response and his experiences competing at the International Lineman's Rodeo. If you want to be part of a future episode, swing by the T&D World booth at the 2026 International Lineman's Expo, where we will be giving out free T-shirts and temporary tattoos for line families. We look forward to seeing you there!

July 10, 2026Episode 14015 min

ICYMI: How Appalachian Power Safely Scaled Mutual Aid After Hurricane Helene

Our ICYMI series for the Line Life Podcast brings stories from the pages of T&D World to life as audio stories. This episode features an article from our February 2026 issue of T&D World magazine on lessons learned from Hurricane Helene. Glenn Edwards, manager, distribution systems for AEP's Appalachian Power, shares the story of how in just 10 days, his company's crews and mutual aid partners logged more than 1 million work hours, replaced 1,485 poles, installed 471 transformers and rebuilt 214 miles of wire. In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Appalachian Power transformed storm response by adopting digital workforce management tools from Arcos. This episode highlights the shift from paper-based, bird dog-led workflows to shared, real-time coordination that improved safety, accelerated restoration and enabled efficient scaling of mutual aid resources. To read the full story, visit the T&D World website . Also, we at the Line Life Podcast wish all of our listeners a Happy National Lineworker Appreciation Day on July 10. If you post at #thankalineworker, make sure you tag T&D World at Linemen World on Instagram or our other social media channels so we can put your crew in the spotlight. Thanks for all you do to keep the lights on and the power flowing!

July 3, 2026Episode 13917 min

Training in Texas: Featuring Josh Hanawalt of Pedernales Electric Cooperative

Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) is training aspiring lineworkers to build and maintain infrastructure in the rapidly growing Hill Country of Texas. During this Line Life Podcast episode, Josh Hanawalt, technical training manager, describes PEC's four-year, 8,000-hour apprenticeship program and the 2026 Apprentice of the Year award won by Benjamin Kent. He also discusses the hands-on training center, climbing instruction, skill milestones and the emphasis on character, leadership and community engagement that set apprentices up for success. Listeners will hear how the program builds technical mastery and crew leadership, prepares apprentices for real-world storm response and system growth and spotlights the dedication behind keeping the lights on. To listen to Part 1, which featured an interview with Benjamin Kent, tune in to this episode .

June 26, 2026Episode 13821 min

ICYMI: Hurricane Helene: Coming Together to Rebuild

In this episode of the Line Life Podcast for our ICYMI series, we are featuring the second part of the Hurricane Helene series, which was published as the cover story of the February 2026 issue of T&D World magazine. The audio story describes how Duke Energy line crews and mutual assistance partners rebuilt infrastructure in Chimney Rock and Bat Cave, North Carolina, after catastrophic flooding. Listeners hear first-hand accounts of line crews working without cell service or roads, using helicopters, track machines, drones and old-school line work to restore power. The International Lineman's Rodeo journeyman team of Miles Bell, Heath Burrell, and Jordan Henderson from Duke Energy also shares five valuable lessons learned about logistics, safety, teamwork and community resilience. To learn more about the storm response, listen to Part 1 of the two-part series, "Hurricanes Helene and Milton: One Year Later." Stay tuned to Podbean or your favorite podcasting app to hear an interview-style episode with Bell with an update on the restoration in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Also, if your line crew just finished restoring power following a storm and you want to share your story, please contact Amy Fischbach , host of the Line Life Podcast and Head of Content for T&D World. We look forward to hearing about your best practices and tools and technologies for storm response.