Covering more than 40% of upstate, NYSEG and RG&E workers’ jobs become critically important during bad weather. Before they can serve 1.3 million customers across the state, though, their work begins on training grounds.

With the demand for line workers growing statewide, jobs like these are becoming increasingly important. It comes at a time when the company plans to replace more than 45,000 poles throughout upstate in the coming years, making training even more crucial.

“They're constantly in communication with one another to understand what we're doing from one pole to the next. That's critical in understanding exactly how we're going to get power restored. And again, keeping everybody safe,” said Jim Fox, a senior manager of networks technical training at AVANGRID.

That safety is lesson number one, whether climbing a pole or operating a vehicle. Apprentices spend time on simulators well before they enter the field.

It’s building an entirely new workforce with an increased demand in the coming years.

"We need that pipeline of people. We need to keep transitioning people into the trades. We found so many people that come into this and never thought it was an opportunity and they absolutely love what they do on a day to day basis,” said Fox.

Some of the training takes place in the classroom, learning the ins and outs of the field. Other parts bring students into real-life scenarios where entire grids can shut down at any moment.

“It's paramount for us to have everything in a controlled environment where we can really make sure that the skills are in a place where they're ready to go back out into the field and practice those skills,” said Fox.

The workers never truly know what might lie ahead of them on a daily basis. When bad weather brings down power lines, for example, the clock is ticking. The more real-life scenarios, the better.

“We understand that it’s essential for the customer to have power, and we make sure that becomes our top priority, along with safety, to make sure we get the power back to our customers,” said Fox.