Garland, Texas, July 14, 2001 - In the high-voltage world of electric transmission-line maintenance and repair, there's no substitute for intensive technical and safety training, sharpened by on-the-job experience. Sometimes the skills can come from a rodeo.

That's what Garland Power & Light linemen discovered recently, when they were able to a repair a 69 thousand-volt line while the line was energized. They made the repair safely, thanks in part to skills learned at the Annual Texas Lineman's Rodeo & Expo. GP&L linemen competed in the rodeo on July 14 in Seguin, Texas, near San Antonio.

Though the rodeo is meant to be a fun competition and showcase for participants, skills-practice gained in previous rodeos also helped GP&L linemen make an important repair that prevented the disruption of electric power to a major corporation. Normally, GP&L will de-energize high voltage lines and transmission equipment before replacing them or making repairs, making it safe for crews to work.

But when a 69KV jumper wire burned in two at GP&L's McCree Switching station, GP&L repair crews faced a dilemma. The 69KV transmission line that the jumper had been attached to could not be removed from service while the burnt jumper was replaced. Using live line tools, GP&L linemen were able to replace the CT jumper, without de-energizing the line, by using "hot sticks" and procedures learned in one of the Lineman's Rodeo events.

This is the third year GP&L has competed in the rodeo. In high humidity and temperatures approaching 100 (,team members competed in drills that also demonstrated necessary skills in a linemanís repertoire. The Hurt Man Pole Top Rescue competition required skills needed in an emergency, while the Pole Climb With Raw Egg was a fun event requiring a man to hold a raw egg in his mouth while climbing down the pole - a cracked egg meant a 10-point penalty.

To prepare for the rodeo, team members would work their normal eight-hour days, then practice for two hours in the GP&L training center. The team had only three weeks to practice before this years rodeo, due to the workload from the just-completed major transmission-rebuilding project for the Ray Olinger Power plant (see "Crews Cross Lake Lavon" in the GP&L News)

GP&L's two teams competed in the journeyman lineman category events. Team one was made up of Richard Martinez, Harold McNair, and David Clark. Team two consisted of Mark Tidwell, Hank Frazier, and Ian Smith. Shannon Denuyl, a first-step apprentice competing in his first rodeo, scored a 91 on a written exam and brought home a third place trophy in the rope splicing/knot tying event in the apprentice category. GP&L's teams completed all events, most within the average time guidelines for the competition. All competitors were scored on the basis of safety, work practice, neatness and ability, equipment handling and timely completion.