Basin Electric lineworkers endure harsh weather to keep electricity flowing

Most people don’t think about where their electricity comes from, but there are those who make a career out of keeping the power on no matter the weather conditions. When the first snowstorm of the season hit northern North Dakota on Oct. 24, Basin Electric’s lineworkers were out in the snow and ice to repair a frayed static wire located 20 miles southwest of Minot, North Dakota. 

First let’s rewind to Aug. 3 when Transmission Systems Maintenance (TSM) Linemen Erick Nelson and Dylan Enget were doing a low-level air patrol over the powerline that runs from Tioga to Logan and spotted the frayed static wire running over a field of ready-to-harvest crops. “It’s not a big problem if taken care of in a timely manner,” says Casey Blotske, lead lineman at TSM-Logan. “However, due to the crops we were unable to access it at that time. We had to wait for the farmer to get their crop, which ended up not happening.” 

Over the next few weeks, the frayed static wire, which is the top wire of the line and a ground for lightening protection, kept getting worse. “If not repaired, the frayed wire could short out the energized conductors if it got too close and started to unravel. That would create a line fault and potentially drop thousands of customers,” Blotske says. “We had to make the decision to fix the frayed wire and pay crop damage to the landowner.” 

On Oct. 24, the team received the hot line order. A hot line order puts the line on what’s called a one shot, so that if there is a fault the line locks out and will not be reenergized until the hot line order hold has been released. Next, they found a truck that would run and operate correctly, completed a safety briefing, and headed out into the storm to repair the frayed static wire. 

With bitter cold temperatures and 6-10 inches of snow in the forecast, “it was an absolutely miserable day for working outside,” Blotske says. “But these men persevered and went above and beyond what a normal workday requires, working in the snow, rain, and ice over a 230-kilovolt energized powerline to keep Basin Electric’s grid flowing flawlessly.” 

Blotske admits that at one time he had the feeling that they had the integrity of the entire northern power grid in their hands. “That’s how important these powerlines are to our co-op members,” he says. “I live in a rural area, and I know what it’s like to lose power. It’s our job to keep the lights on.” 

Blotske and his entire team all play a part in keeping the electricity flowing. “It’s dedicated employees like these who make Basin Electric the strong cooperative it is today.” 

Team members included: Dylan Enget, TSM-Logan; Erick Nelson, TSM-Logan; Casey Blotske, TSM-Logan; and Ryan Hall, TSM-Beulah.