Fairport Electric Customer Testimonial: Overcoming Challenges Despite the Pandemic

Linemen are used to battling the elements—heading out to do their job when many are tucked safely in their homes.

“What you can do during the daylight during a nice, sunny day, you have to be able to do at 2 a.m. when the wind is blowing and it’s snowing,” said Matt Hegarty, superintendent at Fairport Electric. “You have to do your job under any condition at all times, and you have to do it well.”

Doing the job well requires not only skill but also reliable equipment. Fairport electric utilizes a fleet of Altec trucks to help keep the lights on when their community needs them most.

When the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, it brought a new challenge for these linemen to take on—a higher volume of work with new pandemic protocols changing all aspects of their job.

A New Way of Life

During the early days of the pandemic and shutdowns, the volume of work for Fairport Electric rose exponentially. One of 46 electric municipalities in the state of New York, Fairport Electric serves around 18,000 customers across 26 square miles—many of whom were now working and learning in their homes full time.

“Trying to get a schedule to line up where everyone is willing to let you shut their power off when every kid is on a Zoom call … this made it really difficult, and we had to find alternative ways to do what we needed to do,” said line foreman Brent Losey.

Fairport Electric did just that, though—finding ways to keep the lights on and keep their customers connected in a new world.
“We had to create ways to keep the power on,” Hegarty said. “Even during COVID, the poles had to be replaced. Jobs had to happen. We couldn’t just stop.”

Navigating Pandemic Protocols

Fairport Electric was not only facing larger than normal demand, but also new safety protocols to mitigate and minimize the spread of COVID-19.

The power company’s 18 linemen were divided into groups. The groups were to remain completely separated with typically only one group working at a time, ensuring that if one group was exposed to the virus, there were still healthy teams ready to keep the lights on.

“We had to take our fleet and divide it into thirds and say, ‘This group is going to this garage; this group is going outside,’” said Hegarty. “We didn’t interact between each other, and we sanitized the trucks at the end of every shift.”

Serving the Community Together

Despite the challenges that come with the profession, pandemic or not, Losey wouldn’t have it any other way than working as a lineman at Fairport Electric.

“I come here and give my heart and soul to this place, and I go home at the end of the day and give that to my family,” Losey said. “This is a really great job, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Altec takes our support of the electric utility industry seriously, and we are proud to support customers like Fairport Electric who impact their community so greatly. At Altec, our focus continues to be meeting the needs of this industry with products and services that keep the operators that use our equipment safe and productive.

Just as our customers are committed to serving in all conditions, we’re committed to doing our part to help the best way we know how—by listening and working together to make a tangible difference in the lives of both our customers and communities at large.