We’ve all experienced the frustration of being without electricity for extended periods, but we seem to assume we are not the only ones suffering.

Although at times like these when Belco may seem unsympathetic, we need to remember it is run by people just like you and me, and after a storm they all come together and work round the clock to get supply back to powerless customers.

Once a storm has passed, it’s the Belco linesmen that hit the streets to clear downed lines and begin repair work.

“The job involves everything — it’s a pretty hectic life, very demanding and physical,” admits Cornell Dunkley, a grade one linesman at Belco for almost 20 years. “Basically we’re up from sun up to about midnight and start off again at 7 a.m.”

Mr. Dunkley has been at Belco for over 30 years, having started in the power plant. It took Mr. Dunkley roughly five years of on the job training to work his way up from trainee to his current post (which is “the top of the scale for a linesman,” he says), So, what does a linesman do?

A regular day on the job, he says, consists mainly of maintenance involving repairs to overhead lines and so on.

“We’ve got a job schedule for the week and it can range from repairing lines to putting up new poles,” he explains.

“The other part of it is, if there is a hurricane or storm on its way to the island, that’s the time we have to prepare ourselves. We spend time stocking the trucks, making sure the necessary equipment needed to repair lines, etc, is on board and positioning the trucks around the island to be ready after the storm.”

Depending on how high the winds are, during a storm the linesmen are on standby mode, “simply because it’s not safe (for them) to be out during the storm”.

Once the winds die down, Belco sends out scouts to assess the damage. After these locations have been identified and the information relayed to the operations centre, each crew is assigned a different area to concentrate on.

“It is a matter of prioritisation,” he says. “Places like the hospital, if that circuit is off it would be high priority. As well as senior citizens, people on life support, gas stations, grocery stores, etc. There are a lot of areas that need to be prioritised.”

After a hurricane it’s normal for these men to be putting in sometimes 17-hour days, however, a new policy ensures the men don’t feel pressured push themselves too hard.

“We try not to allow too many crews to work past midnight because the men need rest,” Mr. Dunkley says. “If we try to work around the clock it becomes unsafe because we’re tired and worn out. They need us alert for the following day.

“What’s off will have to remain off, but we do what we have to do. If anything is unsafe we’ll send another crew out just to make it safe.”

It’s easy to imagine this kind of work being incredibly taxing on a person, physically and emotionally. In order to keep up with these demands, Mr. Dunkley keeps fit by walking, cycling and eating well, but it takes more than a healthy diet to maintain the stamina needed to work into the wee hours of the morning.

“What gives you the hype to go is when folks show their appreciation once you get that power restored — that alone gives you the encouragement to want to continue on,” he muses. “Trying to get as many people on as possible — even though you might be tired, it gives you the energy to keep going. It’s a good feeling for us at the end of the day to see people smiling and happy and thanking us.”

In addition to keeping his physique in good condition, every year he and his colleagues go through refresher courses to keep up with the changes in technology. And change it has.

“We used to climb every pole we worked on,” he says with a laugh. “Most of our work now is done with the bucket trucks. But they can’t get us everywhere, we still have poles in the backyards that we have to climb.”

Despite the obvious risks involved, Mr. Dunkley admits he’s experienced very few instances where he’s feared for his life, however: “Sometimes you have to battle the winds to make it safe so no one else will be injured. A wire could be hanging on by a thread, just getting ready to drop off, or a pole is on the verge of coming down, you’ve got to get out in the wind to tie it off or support it before it causes more damage.

Those situations are few and far between, however, as safety is number one at Belco, a fact that is instilled in the men throughout their training: “We’re taught not to fear it but respect it. And our way of respecting it is communication. We discuss the job at hand — we used to call it a tailboard conference — and decide on the safest way to approach it. Once we’ve done that, fear is pretty much put aside.”

It seems the hardest part for a linesman isn’t what happens on the job, but what goes on at home when they aren’t there.

“While we’re out there trying to turn on everyone else’s power, our families go without,” he says. “Sometimes we’ll be out there all day putting other people’s lights on and when we get home ours are still off.

“It’s not easy. A lot of times — and most linesmen experience this — after being out all day, once you get home you don’t have power.

“You’re looking to get refreshed and you can’t take a bath. It’s hard to get a hot meal — although the cafeteria is open and they supply us with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“It can be stressful. You’re family is upset because you work for the company, why is it you can’t get the lights on?”

As important as family is to the men, it’s safety first, priority second — once they’ve accomplished this they can begin branching off to the smaller neighbourhoods.

Aside from his duties as a linesman, when he was asked to volunteer and become a Belco Kite Man, he readily said yes.

The Belco Kite Man’s responsibility is to visit the schools every Easter and get the message out to children about safe kite flying through a slide show presentation, a lecture on safety procedures, and a demonstration on what a linesman has to do in order to rescue a kite.

Now that hurricane season is upon us, Mr. Dunkley and Belco stress the need to be prepared and aware, especially of the trees in your own yard.

“If you notice them getting close to the power lines have them cut before they become entangled,” he says. “If they’re dangerously close, call us so we can turn off the power to the area and get a landscaper to trim them before hand.”

So remember, when you’re power is off there are men out there working round the clock to restore it for you.

“Just keep smiling because we need all the encouragement we can possibly get — you’re smiles, thank yous, your offers, everything — that’s what keeps us going.”

Belco works 24/7 after a hurricane