LUCELEC Triumphs At CARILEC Lineworker Rodeo
Written by Radio Caribbean International on April 27, 2023
St. Lucia Electricity Services Limited (LUCELEC) congratulates its 9-person linesman team for its success in the recently held CARILEC Lineworker Rodeo. The event was held on Sunday April 16. It culminated a weekend of training for lineworkers across the region and was co-hosted by LUCELEC.
Three Experienced linesmen teams made up the company’s contingent. An Experienced lineworker is one with 5 or more years of experience in the profession. The LUCELEC Experienced team of Tomy Adolph, Alpheaus Alexander and John Daniel placed second in that division. It was won by their compatriots from the British Virgin Islands Electricity Corporation (BVIEC) with third place going to the Dominica Electricity Company (DOMLEC). LUCELEC also copped second place in each of the four competitive categories with stellar performances from Nerie Joseph, Sherick Anthony and Alpheaus Alexander.
LUCELEC Managing Director Designate Gilroy Pultie says the commendable results are due to the company’s deliberate focus on improving the capacity of its linesmen.
“A few years ago, all our [line] work was outsourced [and] we had very few people we could have considered for [a] rodeo. We made the decision to find the right balance and [train] the [lineworkers] and today we have so many guys who can take part in a rodeo.”
LUCELEC contractors, Islandwide Electricals were the overall winners in the Apprentice Division. An Apprentice lineworker has been employed in the profession for 4 years or less. Islandwide was one of four company contractors who competed in the Rodeo. Teams were also fielded by King Electricals, V. Bonnett Contracting and Triple W Contracting. Second place in the Apprentice Division was the team from the St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC) and in third place was Bahamas Power and Light Company Ltd. (BPL).
CARILEC Executive Director Dr Cletus Bertin says events like the rodeo provide critical training for lineworkers ahead of the start of the Hurricane Season on June 1, when that level of expertise is of crucial importance.
“When you talk about post disaster recovery and lineworkers being at the forefront of that, that really speaks to the importance of that profession for the entire economy – from tourism, agriculture, the services sector all rely obviously on electricity and it’s the lineworkers who are at the forefront, the frontline of restoring the grid post-disaster,” he says.
Eleven utilities and 14 teams from seven countries participated in the Rodeo. The event followed a Symposium held the day before at the LUCELEC Cul-de-Sac Power Station. The weekend of training and competition was sponsored by ALTEC and Buckingham and held at the grounds near The Landings at Pigeon Island.
