• Respect the drone safety zone. Keep drones 200 feet away from power lines, electrical equipment, and substations. Powerlines can interfere with the radio signals to drones and cause them to veer off course or crash. This can cause injury to people below and can also cause damage and outages to our system. Most drones are conductive. If they get between powerlines or on equipment, they can cause what we call a “short circuit.” This can cause fire, explosion or damage to lines, property, and equipment.  Depending on the location of the outage, this can interrupt power to emergency services, hospitals, and other critical infrastructure. The drone operator could be held responsible for costly repairs.
• Don’t try to retrieve a drone stuck in a powerline or substation. Our power lines and substation facilities are dangerous at all times, and getting too close can result in electrocution. Stay clear of the area and call our customer service line immediately. We will respond and determine the safest way to get the drone out of our lines or property.
• Don’t solely rely on your camera to stay out of the 200-foot radius. Drone cameras have a hard time picking up powerlines.
• Don’t fly in bad weather conditions, such as low visibility or high winds.

������Ƶ uses drone technology to assess the condition of our facilities safely and accurately. Our licensed, skilled pilots are specifically trained to mitigate hazards and follow all federal regulations.

Click here to see other spring safety tips, as we’re spending more time outside.

The pace of change and innovation in our industry is really exciting, affecting everything from the way we generate energy to the way our customers use it. At ������Ƶ, we’ve been making powerful progress toward our clean energy goals.

We reduced carbon dioxide emissions from our conventional power plants by 32 percent between 2019 and 2022, and we just announced a new goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. While disruption at this scale can be daunting, I find it’s incredibly exciting to be on the front line of these changes, working to make sure they benefit our customers and our community.

What is your biggest challenge?

Striking the right balance between change and stability. We’re transitioning to a clean energy portfolio as fast as we can, but sustainability must travel hand-in-hand with affordability and reliability. That’s why we’re developing a diverse mix of resources, from natural gas to battery energy storage and renewables, to reduce carbon emissions while controlling costs and preserving reliability. We’re also encouraging our customers to be part of this change. Anyone can be a “Net Zero Hero” by using energy more efficiently and shifting usage to periods when clean energy is most available.

What is the one thing you wish everyone knew about ������Ƶ?

I’ve been at ������Ƶ for nearly 30 years, and what impresses me to this day is the pride our employees take in serving customers and helping us realize our vision of making our community a better place. While most of us take shelter during punishing monsoon storms and stay indoors when the temperatures are unrelenting, our teams go out and work in those conditions. When you ask them why, they will tell you that they take their responsibility very seriously because our service is so critical. The same goes for our employee volunteers, who donated nearly 8,500 hours last year. We also donated more than $1.5 million in company resources to local nonprofit groups. In all, we supported more than 200 worthy causes.

What is the most important characteristic of a great ������Ƶ employee?

We want to make sure every employee shares our values. Our work is rooted in safety, respect for one another, continuous learning and doing the right thing. We work with a single-minded focus on putting the customer at the center of everything we do. We regularly ask our customers what matters to them and whether we’re meeting their needs. Then, we work together across cross-functional teams to support innovation and find creative approaches so we can be as effective as possible in delivering the highest value for our customers. Working with courage and embracing innovation is essential in the midst of the strategic transformation that is reshaping our work.

Why are you passionate about what you do?

When you flip the switch and our lights come on, it’s really easy to take what we do for granted. But I still marvel at the scale, complexity and impact of our work. Thanks to a lot of hard work by smart, talented people, grocery stores can keep food at safe temperatures, parents can read bedtime stories, companies consider relocating or expanding, hospitals run and whether you need to use an ATM or a gas pump, modern life just generally and seamlessly sweeps along. I never forget that for a moment.

“2023 was a banner year for ������Ƶ in many ways,” said Susan Gray, ������Ƶ’s President and CEO. “In looking back at key milestones over the past 12 months, we’re proud that the investments we’ve made allowed us to to maintain top-tier reliability and value for our customers, while also advancing our work toward a cleaner, greener grid.”

Here’s a look back at the highlights:

January: A 30 Percent Drop in Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions from our conventional power plants dropped 32 percent between 2019 and 2022, reflecting powerful progress toward our clean energy goals. The reductions reflected the replacement of retiring coal resources with cleaner energy as part of our plan to reduce carbon emissions 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2035.

Our plans call for the retirement of Units 1 and 2 at our coal-fired Springerville Generating Station in 2027 and 2032, contributing to an anticipated reduction of more than 50 million tons of CO₂ by 2035.

February: EV Plan Gets Green Light

Our roadmap for driving EV adoption, building an equitable charging infrastructure and preparing our grid to support vehicle charging got the green light from state regulators.

Our three-year plan builds on our previous EV offerings by adding innovative programs that will increase accessibility to electric transportation and promote awareness of EV technology and its benefits. It also aligns with our ongoing transition to cleaner, less carbon-intensive energy resources.

Among the new initiatives: a grid impact analysis study, informational kiosks at car dealerships and support for school bus electrification.

March: Embracing Equity

Women at our company were active in the community to honor International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Our Fleet Supervisor, Julie Gomez, planned the first Women in Utility Fleet gathering at the Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference and gave the opening remarks. Meanwhile, member of our Women in Energy resource group grabbed hammers and paintbrushes as they volunteered with Habitat for Humanity.

April: Opening Doors of Opportunity

������Ƶ received recognition for helping customers who had fallen behind on their electric bills.

We received honorable mention in the 2023 Edison Electric Institute Advocacy Excellence Awards for our efforts, which included knocking on doors to connect vulnerable customers with federal resources to provide relief. Ultimately, as the result of the overall campaign, nearly 33,800 customers across ������Ƶ and our sister UniSource territories received more than $16 million in federal assistance to clear past due bills.

May: Honoring Teachers

We welcomed six local teachers to temporary summer jobs at ������Ƶ, where they gained practical industry experience to take back to their students. The placements were made through the Teachers in Industry program, a partnership between the UA College of Education and Tucson Values Teachers, a local nonprofit group. ������Ƶ has participated in the program since its inception in 2010.

We also surprised Roskruge Bilingual Magnet teacher Carmen Griffin with a certificate of appreciation and a gift basket for her participation in our free Bright Students program, which teaches students how energy is made and how energy efficiency can protect natural resources. Carmen scheduled 37 presentations over her tenure as a teacher.

June: 10 Years of Reliable Service

The looming summer marked 10 years of providing top-tier service to customers as one of the most reliable electric service providers in the country.

Since 2012, we have consistently achieved top-quartile reliability scores when compared to other energy providers, based on the System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), a metric that represents the average length of time a customer is without service due to weather, maintenance, equipment failure and other factors.

Over the last decade, the average ������Ƶ customer was without service for about an hour each year – about 14 minutes less than the average score for utilities in the top quartile. ������Ƶ maintained favorable reliability scores in recent years despite record-setting heat waves, storms, supply chain disruptions and other challenges.

July: Recovering from Storms. Celebrating Lineworkers

We all know the summer monsoon season can be incredibly destructive. ������Ƶ typically replaces about 100 storm-damaged poles each monsoon season, from July to August.

That changed this month after three back-to-back storms toppled power poles, uprooted massive trees and damaged buildings. ������Ƶ ended up replacing 160 poles in just two weeks.

Our lineworkers and other teams launched into emergency response mode, working around the clock in the sweltering heat, as safely and quickly as they could to restore power. that highlighted some of their efforts this month.

August: You Helped Us Defeat the Peak

As Tucson boiled through the third hottest summer on record, thousands of local residents participated in a pilot program that rewards customers for turning up the thermostat a few degrees when it matters most.

Thanks to 6,900 customers who participated in nine events over the summer, we were able to collectively save enough energy to power the equivalent of roughly 2,300 homes. That’s important since demand for electricity can strain the grid when summer temperatures climb.

The ������Ƶ Smart Rewards program demonstrated that smart thermostats can be a powerful tool for energy management and environmental sustainability. Customers always retain control over their thermostat and may opt out of an event at any time by simply adjusting their thermostats.

September: E-bike Rebate Program

Going electric isn’t just for cars. E-bikes are a convenient way to get around, with several advantages, including:

• Saving thousands of dollars per year on fuel and maintenance by reducing daily car trips
• Providing a convenient and reliable option for running errands or making short commutes
• Reducing your carbon footprint and air pollutants

We’re now offering rebates for eligible residential customers who . Customers meeting low-income eligibility thresholds are eligible for a $600 rebate. Those who don’t meet income requirements are eligible for a $100 rebate.

October: “Charging Ahead” with a Cleaner, Greener Grid

This month, we announced plans to build a large battery energy storage system in southeast Tucson to help satisfy customers’ everyday energy needs with abundant, low-cost solar energy.

������Ƶ’s Roadrunner Reserve system will serve as the largest energy storage system in our portfolio and among the largest in Arizona. The 200-megawatt (MW) system will be able to store 800 megawatt hours of energy, enough to serve approximately 42,000 homes for four hours when deploying at full capacity. The system is scheduled to begin operation in summer 2025.

Battery systems help ������Ƶ and other utilities make better use of wind and solar resources by “shifting” their output to periods of greatest need. We expect to charge the grid-connected battery in the morning and early afternoon, when solar resources are most productive, then deliver stored energy later in the day when customers’ energy use is typically highest.

November: Target: Net Zero Carbon Emissions

We finalized an updated Integrated Resource Plan this month that sets a new aspirational goal: net zero direct greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The plan also highlights how we’ll accelerate our clean energy expansion to support anticipated growth and maintain affordable, reliable service over the next 15 years.

������Ƶ expects to add 2,240 megawatts (MW) of wind and solar generation and 1,330 MW of energy storage by 2038, as well as 400 MW of natural gas turbines to help offset coal plant retirements and support higher use of variable wind and solar energy. This balance was determined to be the most cost-effective way to maintain reliability while achieving an 80 percent reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2035, a goal set in ������Ƶ’s 2020 IRP.

You can join us. Earn a free T-shirt, cape or cap when you become a “net zero hero” by taking steps to shift or save energy to support a more sustainable future for our community.

December: Giving Back

We haven’t tied a bow on the year just yet, but we’ve so far donated more than $1.3 million to 116 nonprofit groups focusing on community vitality, K-12 education, environmental stewardship, and social justice issues.

Our philanthropic efforts, which also included an additional focus on housing stability to help prevent homelessness, are funded with company resources, not with customers’ rates.

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The eclipse caused a large and rapid decrease in solar energy from ������Ƶ’s large community-scale systems and customers’ rooftop arrays. At the height of the event, from about 8:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., our grid lost more than 300 megawatts (MW) of solar energy production, enough to power nearly 100,000 homes.

Because we had secured additional power to cover such losses, our skilled team of grid operators was able to cover our community’s energy needs even as the system load swung more than 815 MW over the course of an hour.

“It was an interesting phenomenon that demanded our attention now that solar energy is such an integral part of our portfolio,” said Sam Rugel, Director of System Control and Reliability.

Keep in mind that electricity is a real-time service; power is produced at the moment it’s used. That’s why ������Ƶ and other energy providers are working to build more battery systems to store the increasing levels of renewable energy we’ll need for a cleaner, greener grid.

������Ƶ compensated for the loss of solar power with other resources, including units at the Gila River Power Station near Gila Bend and the fast-ramping reciprocating internal combustion engines installed recently at our largest local power plant. We also had postponed planned maintenance to generating units during the eclipse to ensure that we were ready to meet energy demand.

The biggest challenge occurred as the eclipse started to wane and local solar resources start to ramp up production again, pushing more power to the grid than our customers were using. Operators had to rapidly dial back on thermal generating resources to balance supply to the grid with demand.

������Ƶ customers curious to see ������Ƶ’s real-time solar production can check in anytime with ������Ƶ’s Clean Energy Tracker, which also shares information about wind production.

������Ƶ prepared for the event using data available through a partnership with the University of Arizona.

Mobile substations play a crucial role in keeping the lights on for ������Ƶ customers, often in fast-growing areas with increasing energy needs. In addition to supporting reliability while permanent facilities are developed, these portable facilities also help us restore service and reduce outage times during emergencies.

Substations adjust voltage to appropriate levels and provide other support for our local energy grid. ������Ƶ has about 110 permanent substations throughout our service territory. Typically, it takes about five years to design, permit and build a permanent distribution substation. New transformers for those facilities can cost nearly $1.5 million each and take up to two years to build and install.

Mobile substations and skid-mounted transformers provide temporary solutions during periods of high energy usage, unexpected outages or ongoing upgrades to existing equipment. ������Ƶ has about a dozen of them. Once our permanent facilities are installed or repaired, mobile substations hit the road again to plug into the grid in another location.

“Mobile substations are designed to be reliable but flexible,” said Ernesto Ojeda, ������Ƶ Director of Equipment & Asset Management. “They allow us to continue serving customers while we’re working on improvements to our energy grid.”

Mobile substations played a crucial role in supporting reliability on Tucson’s east side this summer. In early June, while performing scheduled maintenance on an older transformer at our Wilmot Substation, crews determined that a transformer there was no longer suitable for service. ������Ƶ worked with the Jim Click Automotive Team, which provided space at no cost in a nearby overflow parking lot, to set up a temporary substation. Customers in the area experienced no outage and the temporary substation was in use for several weeks while crews installed a new permanent transformer at the Wilmot Substation. The new transformer was energized late last month and the temporary substation was removed.

On the northwest side, ������Ƶ customers have been served by the new Tangerine Mobile Substation since it was placed into service in May. The area has experienced rapid, significant growth over the last several years and ������Ƶ is working to develop a new, permanent substation in the area. Once complete, the new permanent substation will link to ������Ƶ’s 138-kV transmission infrastructure.

The Tangerine Mobile Substation, located at a decommissioned landfill, will continue to serve customers for the next few years. ������Ƶ invested about $700k to develop the site and connect it to our local energy grid. Once a suitable site for the mobile substation was secured, employees from multiple teams including Land Resources, Engineering, Design, Line Construction, Substations, Relay, & Communications C&M, Asset Management and System Control worked quickly and safely to get the unit up and running.

Another mobile substation has supported reliable service for customers near Interstate 19 and West Ajo Road over the last three years. Crews are working nearby to build the new 138-kV Cottonwood Substation, which is expected to be placed into service in October 2024.

In 2020, ������Ƶ completed an $8.4 million upgrade of the Country Club Substation near East Speedway Boulevard and North Country Club Road. Our crews replaced transformers, power poles and other equipment. To maintain reliable service to area homes and businesses, ������Ƶ installed a mobile substation on a nearby lot while new equipment was installed.

������Ƶ crews will inspect and perform maintenance on mobile substations and transformers in between deployments to ensure each piece of equipment is ready for emergency use.

There’s a bit of wiggle room, provided mainly by spinning generator turbines that work like shock absorbers to smooth out small imbalances in the grid. But if energy and demand fall too far out of balance, outages occur and can sometimes cascade to affect neighboring systems.

Accurately forecasting energy demand and resources and delivering the right amount of energy is part art and a lot of science. It requires both long- and short-term planning with adjustments along the way. More frequent and extreme weather, adding more wind and solar power to our energy mix, and increased energy demand from electric vehicle charging have all added complexity to our planning.

Think of our forecasting plans and process as a big funnel. The widest part of the funnel represents our Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which outlines how we plan to satisfy future energy needs. ������Ƶ’s 2020 IRP commits that we’ll provide 70 percent of our power from renewable resources and reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2035.

As time passes, the funnel narrows as we develop the resources called for by our IRPs and refine our load forecasts. The data, conditions and analyses change right up to the minute of simultaneous energy generation and use – the point where energy leaves the “funnel.”

Our planners look at historical trends as well as weather patterns to help with their forecasts. Our planning is typically focused on serving higher energy demands in the summer, when usage typically ramps up in the morning, drops significantly during midday and then increases sharply in late afternoon just as solar production is declining.

“We look at historical trends for energy usage on similar days based on morning highs and lows and season. In the summer, those are weighted heavier,” said ������Ƶ Business Intelligence Analyst Patrick Lacy. Planning for anticipated demand, means evaluating a combination of other factors, he said, including:

• forecasted temperatures;
• anticipated humidity;
• precipitation; and
• output from wind and solar systems.

Energy resource planners use demand forecasts to help refine the mix of resources we’ll need.

“We always look at the flexibility of energy resources to help us manage our load as well as their costs and impact on climate change,” said ������Ƶ Resource Planning and Procurement Manager Victor Aguirre. “We’re also conscious about water usage and the emissions created when making decisions about the type of energy we’ll use to meet demand.  Reliability is very important, so increasingly we’re looking at ways to store more of the wind and solar power we generate.”

Our models and forecasts also factor in potential energy savings from ������Ƶ’s energy efficiency programs as well as assumptions about local EV market penetration, both of which affect demand.

������Ƶ always uses the cleanest energy first and after that, resource decisions are driven by cost.

“We try to use every megawatt of clean energy that we own first in our resource mix,” Lacy said. “After that, the resources used are based on economics. We always try to use the least expensive energy to meet forecasted demand, even if that means purchasing power on the wholesale market. This helps us keep costs lower for customers.”

Aguirre said having renewables represent a larger share of our resource mix can be challenging at times. If clouds roll in, a storm lingers or winds don’t blow, additional resources may be needed to meet demand.

“Solar and wind energy are still simulated in our models because they can be intermittent but are usually used first. We still need to have other resources available and ready to use given the variability of renewable energy,” he said.

Our energy plans include a 15 percent reserve to help us accommodate unforeseen events, such as a generating unit outage or an extreme weather event. “Climate change has changed how we plan, mostly from a reserves standpoint,” said Lacy. “We need to prepare for more frequent weather events that impact our energy planning to make sure we have enough capacity to handle extreme loads.”

Once energy leaves the planning “funnel,” ������Ƶ’s Balancing Authority Operators take over to ensure those resources are well balanced with usage. They monitor the frequency of the local and regional grid and call for changes in generation and system operation if necessary to ensure that they remain stable.

“Our operators are responsible for monitoring our loads, generation and imbalance market participation 24 hours day,” said Lauren Briggs, who managed ������Ƶ’s balancing authority before taking a new role as Director of Resource Procurement and Planning.  “Through our membership to the Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), we can balance our own load while taking excess renewables from other Balancing Authorities.”

The WEIM is a regional energy market that connects participating utilities to available resources in the region. Excess output is sold in real time in increments as small as five minutes, helping grid operators optimize their portfolio and compensate for the variable output of solar and wind resources.

The system was expanded twice in 2010, and the White Mountain solar array was added alongside it in 2014; the systems can now generate a combined 13.5 MW. Last year, they produced enough clean energy to serve the annual electric needs of nearly 1,800 average Tucson homes.

From the beginning, maintenance of these solar arrays was outsourced to local contractors. Last year, when our main contractor announced he would retire this June, our SGS team decided to bring the maintenance in-house, given the scarcity of other vendors in the area.

“When this idea was presented last fall, employees really took ownership of this project,” said Maintenance Superintendent Kenny Blank, who is overseeing the transition. “We all see the need and opportunity to give our employees new knowledge and skills in renewable energy.”

Springerville teams have been gearing up to assume maintenance of the solar arrays by shadowing the contractor and integrating plans and work processes into our internal systems. They’ve also received expert guidance and assistance from the ������Ƶ asset manager who oversees all of our company-owned solar power systems.

“The great thing about this transition is that different elements of the process and maintenance fall into different areas to help manage the work efficiently,” Blank said. “Our planners help us secure parts, the electricians perform testing and checks, and our engineers assist with designing or retrofitting these systems.”

As technology has advanced, one challenge of maintaining an older system is that some of the parts and equipment are no longer available. Employees may need to repair or retrofit existing parts or fabricate new parts with engineering support. “We have a lot of smart people at the plant who can leverage their talents and creative thinking to find solutions and preserve our investment,” he added.

Maintaining the solar arrays on site gives employees additional skills in the growing renewable energy industry. It also saves money by reducing the need for Tucson-based  employees to travel to Springerville. The solar panels will be ������Ƶ’s only generating resource in the area once our two coal-fired units at SGS are retired in 2027 and 2032.

Dylan Bearce, Senior Director of Energy Resources, said the teamwork demonstrates how employees are living out our corporate values.

“As a company, we strive to create a collaborative, inclusive culture where each of us feels empowered to contribute and leverage our unique skills and talents to meet any challenge we face,” he said. “We are better working together. We also know investing in our employees through continuous learning will help us achieve operational excellence.”

That’s been no small task for the past few years as increasingly tempestuous and unpredictable storms have added strain to ongoing global and national supply chain challenges.

Our Transmission & Distribution and Procurement teams meet weekly to discuss inventory needs and track progress. “We recognized the importance of being well-prepared before summer arrives, so we started planning far in advance to mitigate any challenges that we might encounter,” said Robert Soltero, Manager of Procurement and Contracts.

The teams developed a comprehensive inventory of materials on hand, while identifying which items are most impacted by storms. For example, ������Ƶ typically needs to replace about 100 poles and 55 transformers each summer due to storm damage.

Transformers are in particularly short supply, due in part to a nationwide shortage of the specific type of  steel needed to make them. They also are difficult to manufacture, with an intricate design that requires assembly by expert technicians to precise specifications.

������Ƶ uses more than 100 different types of transformers to convert energy from one voltage to another – a basic function of a modern electrical grid. Voltage is typically increased for efficient long-distance transmission, then reduced in stages for local distribution and delivery to customers.

As transformers have become harder to find, with longer lead times, the purchasing team began placing orders sooner. They also have deployed several strategies to ensure sufficient stock of transformers and other critical equipment is on hand for summer, Soltero said. The team:

• temporarily increased the inventory for critical items
• set aside a dedicated stock, including more than 300 transformers, to guarantee their availability for emergency restoration over the summer
• deepened collaborative relationships with key suppliers that provide essential materials
• expanded our supplier base with new international vendors
• stepped up efforts to repair and refurbish transformers from the field to boost inventory levels while awaiting new machines.

“The global supply chain challenges have tested our ingenuity,” explained Transmission & Distribution Manager Jeremy Erlacher, “but because of our proactive practice of deploying a variety of strategies to manage risk and ensure reliability, we’re well-positioned for the summer.”

Erlacher said there are promising signs that existing supply chain challenges are lifting, noting the team expects some more stability by the spring of 2024.

“I thought that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I decided right then that’s what I wanted to do,” recalled Morales, a Crew Leader and 14-year Journeyman for ������Ƶ.

Morales is among ������Ƶ’s nearly 100 lineworkers – journeymen, apprentices, crew and team leaders, and troublemen – who serve as sentinels for our electrical grid. They’re constantly working to maintain, repair and upgrade our 1,500 miles of transmission lines and nearly 12,000 miles of distribution lines and system equipment.

Whether in sunny, blue skies or punishing storms, ������Ƶ crews are on the job 24/7 to keep the power flowing to Tucson’s critical service providers, homes and businesses. While most of us head indoors when storms roll in, our line crews roll out on a moment’s notice to respond to any outages.

The role can be romanticized, as in Glen Campbell’s 1968 song, “Wichita Lineman,” and the 2015 movie, “Life on the Line” starring John Travolta.  In reality, though, the work is physically demanding and often dangerous.

Line crews work with voltages as high as 500 kilovolts, sometimes while being lifted high above the treetops or squeezing into dark, cramped quarters, such as underground vaults. They’re also subject to extreme heat, wind, torrents of rain and the occasional rattlesnake that finds its way into our equipment.

Workers must have the physical strength to lift and pull heavy cable and conduit and scramble up poles if needed. Although using personal protection gear is essential for safety, it’s often cumbersome, hot to wear and restricts movement.

“The work and conditions do take their toll,” admitted Morales,” but I do my best to eat healthy, stay hydrated and rest up between jobs.”

Lineworkers typically work a 10-hour day, but their shift can stretch up to 16 hours if emergency repairs are needed. That was the case two years ago, when a raging storm in southern Pima County toppled 80 poles. Many lineworkers put in very long days for a week’s time to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses that faced an extended outage.

Long shifts with overtime often mean a lot of missed family events and special occasions, which is no small sacrifice. “Time away from my family is the hardest part of the job,” Morales said. “I’ve missed a few birthdays and my kids’ baseball and football games. It can be hard on my family, but they understand that if our lights were out, we’d want power restored quickly, too.”

On the upside, spending so much time with your coworkers also creates a strong bond. “We trust each other with our lives” Morales added. “We watch out to keep each other safe because they are our work family.”

Troublemen, like Dustin Christmas, also are an important part of the lineworkers’ family. They arrive on the scene first when there’s a problem to determine the cause and to coordinate needed crews and resources to make repairs. While Christmas says he takes the challenges of his job in stride, he also knows the community is counting on our crews.

“Our job is to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. We have an obligation to keep the lights on,” he said. “When customers are out of power, they’re very happy to see ������Ƶ crews roll up, but often multiple teams – such as design, warehouse and heavy equipment – are mobilized and working behind the scenes to support our restoration efforts.”

Because ������Ƶ and other utilities rely on a corps of , such as journeymen, our company has stepped up efforts to recruit and groom the next generation of lineworkers. ������Ƶ offers a clear pathway for employees to transition from a craft trainee intern to a full journeyman, which can take five years.

“We work closely with career counselors and participate in job and science fairs to share with students and young adults all of the craft trade possibilities in the energy industry,” said Joanne Kingman, ������Ƶ Training Supervisor. “������Ƶ also partners with Pima Community College to support their Get into Energy Program and their , which gives students the basic skills and hands-on learning to prepare them for entry level positions at our company.”

Despite the strenuous and hazardous work, long hours and challenging work conditions, Morales and Christmas said there is nothing else they’d rather be than a lineworker.

“For me it’s a point of pride in serving our customers,” Morales said. “That’s what motivates me every day.” Added Christmas, “I’d do exactly the same thing that I’m doing now. I like being a lineman, the job and the challenge.”

As a mechanic and welder in the power plant, Randy generates electricity at the Sundt Generating Station on Irvington.

As a supervisor in the substations area, Randy’s son Chris distributes it.

Randy likes the desert heat. Chris misses the frigid weather of Alaska, where he served in the U.S. Air Force and where it was 45 degrees below zero when he lured his father out for a visit.

But in the things that matter, they’re lockstep.

Family is everything. You keep your word. You show up. You take pride in your work.

Randy, 60, started at ������Ƶ 23 years ago, after a career at a Northern Arizona paper mill and a stint helping to build ������Ƶ’s coal units at the Springerville Generating Station.

Growing up, Chris learned from his father how to weld and build things. “He could fix anything,” Chris said, crediting his father with his work ethic. He remembers pushing a wheelbarrow full of rocks and chopping wood when he was in primary school. They joke that the Air Force was easy on him, comparatively.

Randy’s the one who recruited Chris to move to Tucson eight years ago.

“He said, ‘There’s a planner job in transmission and distribution. I don’t know anything about it, but you should check it out,’” Chris recalled, joking, “It was really just a ploy to get closer to his grandkids.”

It worked. While the two see each other at work infrequently, they live about 20 minutes apart. They spend their weekends as a family, hunting, camping, working in the shop and shuttling the grandkids, now 8 and 6, to their ball games.

For Chris, 40, it was a good move professionally as well as personally. “This is one of those companies that still has a family environment. I enjoy that camaraderie of the team, I like that we have an important mission and that our work is recognized in the community. You show up in a ������Ƶ shirt and people know the work you do for them.”

Randy, too, feels that sense of family, noting he’s grateful that he’s been able to “raise” many work sons, mentoring young apprentices as they come through the company, helping them hone their skills.

When Chris meets other employees who worked with his dad, it gives him pride when they share how he influenced their careers and abilities. “You’ve got to make your own path, but it helps that people know where you come from,” Chris said.

Randy, similarly, is proud of what his son has accomplished, from his military service to his dedication to getting his master’s degree while working fulltime. “It’s been great to see him move up in the company into different roles. There’s no limit to what he can be.”

While he looks forward to seeing how Chris’ career unfolds, Randy himself will be looking at retirement in some number of years, just as the coal plants he built are being phased out. The transition promises to be a bit bittersweet. “It’s been a good career,” he said. “It’s been rewarding to be part of providing people with power.”

Happy Father’s Day, gentlemen.