Electric linework is inherently dangerous. On any given day across Colorado, electric cooperative linecrews work around live electrical conductors that carry thousands of volts. It’s work that keeps communities running — and it’s also work where a single mistake can have life-altering consequences. “You don’t get a second chance,” said Curt Graham, director of safety for the Colorado Rural Electric Association. “This stuff is unforgiving.”
HIGH-STAKES WORK
Distribution lines common across co-op service areas typically carry 7,200-14,400 volts. That’s far below high-voltage transmission lines but still more than enough to cause catastrophic injury or death. “If you contact one, you’re going to face a severe burn, possible loss of your limbs or your life,” Graham said.
Graham knows firsthand. Before moving into safety leadership, he spent nearly 40 years as a lineman. While working at an eastern Colorado co-op, he saw the consequences of one devastating accident. “We had a young man who contacted 14,400 volts and wound up losing part of his leg,” he recalled. “The rehab, the grafting, the surgeries — it doesn’t just affect that person. It affects their coworkers, their family, everyone they know.”
The hazards aren’t always obvious. Electricity can behave in surprising ways. Even a line that appears de-energized can carry dangerous voltage through induction — energy transferred from nearby high-voltage lines or even environmental factors such as wind. That’s why lineworkers follow strict procedures: Isolate the line, test it, and ground it before work begins. Skipping any step can be fatal.
FACILITATING SUCCESS
That reality is why Colorado’s electric cooperatives participate in the Rural Electric Safety Achievement Program. RESAP is a peer-driven, continuous improvement program that helps co-ops strengthen safety practices, identify risks, and protect the people who keep the lights on.
Each Colorado co-op participates in a RESAP review approximately every three years. A team led by CREA brings together four to five volunteers from other electric co-ops — line supervisors, safety professionals, and operations leaders — to conduct the review. Over the span of two days, they inspect facilities and vehicles, observe field work, and review documentation ranging from training records to equipment maintenance logs.
By the end, the co-op under review receives a detailed report, a presentation for its leadership, and hundreds of photos documenting both strengths and opportunities for improvement. “Everything is left with the co-op so they can decide how to move forward,” Graham said.
THE POWER OF PEER-TO-PEER LEARNING
One of RESAP’s greatest strengths is its peer-driven approach. “What’s amazing is it isn’t just safety directors — it’s also linecrew supervisors, your peers looking at peers and questioning procedures,” said John Stoeber, chief operations officer at Gunnison County Electric Association.
Stoeber, who has spent 31 years in the trade after starting his career as an apprentice lineworker, values RESAP for the program’s ability to bring consistency across an organization. “Whether it’s tagging underground lines, approaching a hot-sticking job, or rubber gloving, RESAP helps us make sure we’re doing all the key tasks and procedures consistently and correctly.”
Stoeber underscores the collaborative nature and constructive tone of the reviews. “Everyone’s there to help educate and share wisdom,” Stoeber says. “That’s a huge benefit.”
The exchange goes both ways. When co-op employees serve on RESAP teams, they often bring back practical ideas. Stoeber recalls visiting a co-op where a forklift was equipped with a magnet to pick up nails in the yard — preventing flat tires on service vehicles. “It was brilliant,” he says. “Simple things like that — you see them, and you bring them home.”
REINFORCING WHAT MATTERS MOST
For John Parker, safety and compliance coordinator at Southeast Colorado Power Association, RESAP provides critical reinforcement of the safety training and oversight he provides to co-op staff. “It’s a second entity coming in and checking,” he said. “They’re inspecting everything — vehicles, yards, warehouses, shops — making sure it’s up to code and beyond.”
In many cases, RESAP standards exceed regulatory minimums. For example, while federal rules may require periodic testing of rubber protective gloves, RESAP calls for more frequent checks. “They want to make sure those gloves are safe,” Parker said.
That kind of diligence matters in the field where conditions can push workers to their limits. On hot days, for example, wearing heavy protective gear can be exhausting. The temptation to cut corners is real. “When you’re in those sleeves, you come out looking like you just took a shower,” Graham said. “Linework is tough. You’ve got to take care of your body, stay hydrated, and watch your coworkers.”
RESAP reinforces those habits not just through policies but through conversations. “The biggest benefit is them coming in and reinforcing to the guys that what we’re pushing is good,” Parker said.
FROM “GOTCHA” TO SHARED GROWTH
Programs like RESAP weren’t always universally embraced by lineworkers. Decades ago, safety inspections could feel punitive. “In the ’70s, this used to be a gotcha program — ‘What are we going to find?’” Graham said.
That mindset has changed. RESAP has evolved into a collaborative effort focused on improvement, not blame. “Over the last six or seven years, we’ve gone from ‘what can we find wrong’ to ‘how can we help you improve,’” Graham said.
That shift mirrors a broader transformation in safety culture across Colorado’s electric cooperatives. “You could walk into any of them, any time of day, and they’d do well on a RESAP inspection,” Graham said. “That’s a culture change over the years.”
SAVING LIVES
Perhaps the most important message RESAP reinforces is one that runs counter to the urgency lineworkers feel, especially during outages. “Everybody talks about the rush,” Graham said. “We’re all Type A personalities; we want to get it done. But you’ll never hear management say ‘Hurry.’ The message is always: ‘Take your time, do it right.’”
Because in this line of work, speed is never worth the risk. “That extra hour you might gain is not worth it,” he said.
Beyond inspections, RESAP strengthens the entire cooperative network. It creates opportunities for leadership development, knowledge sharing, and continuous improvement across the state. For co-op members, the benefits may not always be visible, but they are real.
Every time a lineworker returns home safely at the end of a shift, every time an outage is restored without harm to lineworkers, and every time a hazard is identified before it causes harm, RESAP is part of that story.
“Our biggest fear is these guys getting hurt,” Graham said. “I feel it’s my job to do everything I can to get the message across to keep them safe.” And through RESAP, that message is shared — not just from the top down but from peer to peer, co-op to co-op, across Colorado.
Jim Hight is a writer, research analyst, and consultant based in Buena Vista, Colorado, where he is a member of Sangre de Cristo Electric Association.
Photo of RESAP review courtesy of Curt Graham.