Power Line Construction & Maintenance

Mitchell Technical College offers the only Power Line program in South Dakota. Employment opportunities are available with rural electric cooperatives, municipal and private utility companies, the Bureau of Reclamation, private contractors and many others.  Course material and lab activities are based around the application and theory of distribution and transmission of electrical power. Fieldwork includes operating a digger derrick truck, setting poles, climbing poles, installing anchors and stringing conductors. Outside lab also involves installation of transformers and metering for overhead and underground distribution systems.

Physical fitness is an important part of the job of an electrical line worker. A careful, detail-oriented personality is also a good quality to possess since individuals will be working with high voltage, often in dangerous situations and bad weather conditions; safety is a major element of lineworker training. Line work is extremely challenging as the type of projects, conditions and work locations change frequently. Lineworkers perform tasks in an outdoor environment subjected to various weather conditions such as extreme heat or in freezing temperatures in the rain, sleet, wind and snow. The work is done in both overhead and underground lines with the overhead work typically done at heights more than 25 feet above the ground. Lineworkers are often on call at any hour to restore power.

Students who wish to obtain an AAS degree in Utilities Technology may complete this curriculum, the Geospatial Technologies, Heating & Cooling Technologies or Natural Gas Technology curriculum and the addition of a behavioral science elective (3 hours).