PG&E and IBEW 1245 Celebrate Journeyman Lineman Recognition Day

SAN FRANCISCO, July 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is pleased to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1245 (IBEW 1245) in celebration of Journeyman Lineman Recognition Day on Thursday, July 10. The recognition day, which was recently designated by the California State Assembly, acknowledges the critical role that electric linemen play in delivering safe and reliable power to customers.

PG&E's Journeyman Linemen are part of the team responsible for safely building, maintaining and repairing the utility's electric power grid for commercial, industrial, agricultural and residential customers across Northern and Central California. Due in part to the hard work of linemen, PG&E customers experienced the fewest service interruptions and shortest duration of power outages in company history last year. Customers have seen a 40 percent improvement in the average duration of service disruptions and a 27 percent improvement in the number of customer interruptions since 2006.

"The job of a lineman is absolutely essential, both to California's economy and our way of life," said PG&E's Executive Vice President of Electric Operations, Geisha Williams. "It's a job that can be quite unpredictable and – as a result – requires a unique combination of strength, coordination and problem solving in order to be successful. PG&E is proud to partner with the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Local 1245 to celebrate everything these men and women do for our customers."

To ensure that journeyman lineworkers have the skills and abilities necessary to have a long and successful career in this critical role, PG&E has created an industry-leading five year apprentice program. This program starts with a year-long pre-apprenticeship, with participants graduating into a 48-month apprentice program designed to build upon the skills, knowledge and behaviors that were taught during their pre-apprenticeship. Upon successful completion of the program, apprentices graduate into the journeyman classification.    

"Linemen have long played a critical role within IBEW Local 1245," said Tom Dalzell, Business Manager, IBEW 1245. "These men and women are working at heights, with high voltages and often in bad weather to power the areas they live and work in. It's tough work, and we're proud of the critical role they play."

PG&E and IBEW 1245 would like to say "thank you" to all of the men and women locally and across the state for their hard work and tireless dedication. The company also invites customers to take a moment to thank a lineman for the work they do by using #ThankaLineman on social media to show support for the men and women who play a critical role in safely powering California.

About PG&E

Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG), is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in San Francisco, with more than 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of the nation's cleanest energy to nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit www.pge.com/ and http://www.pge.com/about/newsroom/.

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SOURCE Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)