In March 2020, Sara Pettit, a mother of a 1-year-old, worked as an advanced distribution management system engineer with National Grid.

"It was… different," Pettit recalled.

The Eastern Regional Control Center is responsible for keeping power on for more than 500,000 customers. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most of the country five years ago, the power stayed on thanks, in part, to Pettit and 19 of her colleagues. They made sure of it.

"We were living in trailers out back in a fenced-in area," said Pettit.

Living on-site for 47 days, employees couldn't go home between shifts.

"The work of the control center is very important," said Ray Joyce, director of the National Grid Eastern Regional Control Center. "We monitor and control the electric grid for upstate New York, and with forecasts of 40% illness rates predicted with COVID early in March of 2020, we knew that we would have to isolate staff to protect the operation."

They stayed connected to family through video calls and social-distancing visits.

"It was tough," said Joyce. "It was tough not to cross that line and give some hugs."

While it was a challenging experience, they tried to make the most of it.

"In our downtime, when we weren't working, we just tried to pass the time that best we could," said Pettit. "Sometimes, I was talking with family. Sometimes, it was watching a movie or working out. And sometimes, we were blessed with some of our other colleagues who were musically inclined, and they would play guitar for us."

Five years later, they say it's an experience they'll never forget.

"We shared a moment in time like no other," said Pettit. "So there's more of a bond there now than there ever was.”