Love on the line

York Elec­tric linework­ers don’t work alone on our pow­er lines. Whether they are climb­ing poles, replac­ing trans­form­ers or clear­ing lines to restore pow­er, they are nev­er far from the hearts of the women and fam­i­lies who love them. At this time of year, stores seem flood­ed with hearts, can­dy, and cards pro­fess­ing true love. But, to be hon­est, those sen­ti­ments often pale in com­par­i­son to the bonds of love we see every time a storm sweeps through our area.

If the lights go out, our linework­er’s wives send their loved ones out into the ele­ments. When oth­er elec­tric coop­er­a­tives are in trou­ble after dev­as­tat­ing hur­ri­canes, tor­na­does, fires, and floods; our linework­ers trav­el long dis­tances from home to help bring the lights back on for com­plete strangers. Each time these brave, com­mit­ted men leave home to help those in need, their fam­i­lies are left behind, pray­ing for a safe return.

Work­ing with high-volt­age elec­tric­i­ty in extreme con­di­tions, linework­ers find them­selves in haz­ardous and chal­leng­ing sit­u­a­tions on a reg­u­lar basis. That’s why York Elec­tric always focus­es on safe­ty first. The empha­sis on safe­ty direct­ly ben­e­fits mem­bers with quick­er out­age restora­tion times and cost sav­ings. It also helps our men get back home safe­ly to their loved ones. We know the wives, fam­i­lies and friends of our linework­ers appre­ci­ate that!

Mar­ry­ing into this pro­fes­sion isn’t always easy. Line work­ers are often “on call” or on “stand by” and must be ready to respond at a momen­t’s notice if our com­mu­ni­ty needs them. This makes chil­dren’s sport­ing events and fam­i­ly get-togeth­ers hard to pull off at times. But the men who keep your pow­er flow­ing do so because they know, with­out their com­mit­ment, many of the things we’ve come to expect—warm homes, hot food, lights, and entertainment—wouldn’t be pos­si­ble. By devot­ing their lives to work­ing on util­i­ty lines, they con­nect all of us to a safer and bet­ter way of life.

This Valen­tine’s Day I’d like to take a moment to thank the women and fam­i­lies who sup­port and love the men who brave the ele­ments and work long hours to keep pow­er flow­ing to our homes each and every day. Thank you for putting your love on the line—we’re ful­ly com­mit­ted to mak­ing sure the men you love return home safe.