Every April, we celebrate our lineworkers for their tireless work keeping the lights on.

However, like most jobs during the pandemic, changes had to be made in the way business is conducted by crews.

Each morning the lineworkers would come into the office and meet with their crew, pick up their orders, get their materials and head out to their jobs.

"Now, the crews do not all report to the office in the mornings and afternoons," said Chuck Richardson, vice president of engineering and operations."There is one crew in each location (Dunn and Fayetteville) that reports to the office."

Instead, crews gather at a substation and begin their daily work from there.

When they need materials, protocol requires they call the warehouse to schedule pick-up.

"We try to limit material pick up times to just one crew at a time," he said.

You may see more vehicles at work as well, as crews maintain social distancing guidelines.

"When at a job location, they're careful to maintain social distancing, and when work prevents distancing, masks are being worn."

"When at a job location, they're careful to maintain social distancing, and when work prevents distancing, masks are being worn."

South River EMC and our crews are taking the pandemic seriously; however, they do have to be able to gather at times for certain issues, such as when a vehicle accident occurs and repairs must be made.

"When one or more of the crewman have to quarantine, it is a little troublesome for us," said Richardson. "We send the rest of the crew out to do maintenance work."

That's the bright side, if there ever was one, even if a crew cannot be together to do certain jobs, those members who are able can do maintenance work, which helps improve reliability of the electric system.

We encourage you, if you're appreciative of the lineworkers who work to keep your power on, give them a shout out.