When the lights go out, so do they – in rain or shine, day and night. That acknowledgement, especially in the wake of a year that brought historically destructive weather to the state, is just one of the many reasons Gov. Josh Stein proclaimed Monday, April 14 as Lineworker Appreciation Day in North Carolina.

“Lineworkers are devoted to service and deserve our respect,” said Stein in the proclamation. “Lineworkers work with thousands of volts of electricity high atop power lines to keep electricity flowing 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, putting their lives on the line to provide power.”

This year’s appreciation day is a special one for North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives. This past year highlighted lineworkers’ willingness to put their neighbors and communities first as the state faced multiple severe weather events, including one of the most destructive hurricanes to ever hit western North Carolina. Just from that storm, while facing unprecedented transportation and telecommunication challenges, cooperative line crews from across the state joined the effort in western North Carolina to repair and rebuild critical infrastructure and restore power to more than 239,000 co-op members.

“You don’t think about yourself during a time like that — you think about the people you’re going to help,” said Jacob Denny, a first-class line technician at Piedmont Electric Cooperative, based in Hillsborough, who assisted co-ops impacted by Hurricane Helene. “That’s what being a lineworker at a co-op is about: stepping up, working together and restoring power to communities that need us most, no matter where they are.”

North Carolina’s 26 electric cooperatives employ more than 1,300 lineworkers across the state, serving 93 of the state’s 100 counties and connecting 106,000 miles of line between rural and suburban communities. Playing an integral role in ensuring both a reliable and resilient grid, they are responsible for constructing, operating and maintaining equipment that helps the cooperatives continue to provide reliable electricity to more than 2.8 million North Carolinians and 45 percent of the state’s land mass.

Beyond installing and repairing electrical power lines, lineworkers play a valuable role in inspecting and maintaining the infrastructure that powers rural North Carolina. The training that North Carolina’s electric cooperative lineworkers undergo is extensive, with formal apprenticeships lasting between five to seven years, in addition to 14 weeks of on-site classes with the job training and safety team. Even after completing their apprenticeship, co-op lineworkers continue to adhere to a rigorous training schedule, especially as technology evolves.

“Working for a cooperative has always been a very rewarding experience for me,” said Luke Retzloff, an apprentice lineman III at Wake Electric Membership Corporation, based in Wake Forest. “There’s a rich history of everyday people coming together to serve their communities — men and women working tirelessly through the night so our members can rest easy, even in the midst of a storm. Bringing power to homes and making a real difference is exciting work, and I truly treasure every moment of it.”