Devastating Power Surge Claims the Life of Texas Lineman Working to Restore Electricity

A lineman for CPS Energy was up on a utility pole working to restore power outages in Bexar County early Tuesday, July 23rd when he was tragically killed by what utility workers believe was a power surge.

Weather conditions were to blame for outages in the area and workers say they believed the power had been cut to the line being repaired when suddenly there was a power surge. Lineman 32-year-old Clayton Kloesel was brought down from the line and co-workers administered CPR, but he unfortunately passed away.

Innovations in safety have made the job less treacherous than in the past, even so, the combination of heights and high-voltage power makes it easy to understand why working as a lineman can be rather tricky. According to Lineman Central, for every 100,000 linemen, there are approximately 42 deaths per year nationally. National lineman surveys also indicate an average of 2,400 non-fatal injuries reported each year per 100,000 linemen.

Linemen take their jobs very seriously and it can take more than 7000 hours to become one. Not only is the job physically demanding, but it's also very dangerous. If you know a lineman, be sure to give them a hug around the neck and tell them thank you for keeping the lights on for us. It's a career that should be greatly respected. We couldn't do much without them.

Townsquare Media extends its greatest sympathy to the family and friends of Clayton Kloesel.

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