It was the dead of winter, just after dinner, around eight o’clock, when the outage call came in. Since it was winter, it had been dark for several hours and the temperature was minus twenty degrees. No wind with a partly cloudy sky. It was cold outside.
Long story short, we needed to replace a 25kv transformer that was on a 35-foot pole in the rear of a lot. Fortunately for us, it was located on the edge of a golf course so we could get our trucks in there. By the time we got the pot changed out, it was after one in the morning and the temperature had settled at 22 below zero. By then, the people in the houses had to be getting pretty cold.
The big moment came to energize it. Because it was early in the evening when the power went out, every light in the neighborhood came on when we threw it in. We could see all the people standing at their windows, wrapped up in blankets. Next thing we hear is the muffled cheers as they all start hopping around and waving at us.
We were HEROS!
Byron Dunn – Lineman-Retired; Editor