Whether temperatures soar during the summer, snow piles up in the winter or spring storms roll across the region, our employees are constantly preparing for what comes next. The work often happens behind the scenes, but it plays a critical role in helping communities stay connected to safe, reliable energy.

Trevor, a lineman apprentice in Pueblo, sees that firsthand every day.

As a seven-step apprentice who has been with the company for more than three years, Trevor's responsibilities start long before a crew arrives at a work site. A typical day includes organizing materials, preparing trucks and making sure crews have everything they need to complete their work efficiently.

"We get material every day," Trevor said. "My job is to make sure we have that material on our truck so our job runs effectively and smoothly."

It sounds simple, but preparation is one of the foundations of reliability. Every pole, transformer, bolt and piece of equipment that makes its way into the field supports the larger mission of delivering dependable service to customers.

That mission becomes even more important when the weather refuses to cooperate.

"There's a lot of challenges in this field," Trevor said.

Sometimes things aren’t quite as straightforward in the field as they are on paper. A project that looks simple on a map can become more complicated once crews get their boots on the ground and find unexpected obstacles. Then there’s the conditions themselves, including extreme temperatures, storms and overnight callouts.

"Coming out in the middle of the night, cold weather, hot days, long nights, at all hours. It's challenging sometimes," he said.

None of this is unique to one season. Trevor knows he can get those calls any time of the year, which is why preparation never stops.

Across Colorado, and our entire service territory, we make everyday investments to keep providing safe, reliable energy. That means Trevor and our crews are always working to upgrade infrastructure, install new equipment and strengthen the grid that customers depend on every day. 

"Keeping the lights on is important because if there's no lights, the hospital has problems. People freeze," Trevor said. "We try our best to keep it reliable by upgrading transformers, changing out poles, changing wire size so nothing fails."

Trevor knows that reliability isn’t just about convenience. Electricity supports critical services, businesses, schools and healthcare facilities. It powers the everyday moments and essential functions that help communities thrive. But customers may never see the investments that help keep their power on. 

A newly upgraded transformer or a replacement pole may not attract much attention, but those improvements can help reduce future outages and support growing energy needs. That’s why crew members like Trevor take the opportunity to make upgrades when they respond to any issues.

“They don't see us changing out transformers in the middle of the night and looking at them and deciding to upgrade it right then,” he said. “Because there's so many houses down that block and if we don’t, they're going to have another power outage.”

It is the kind of work that often happens quietly, without fanfare, but it reflects a larger commitment to proactive planning and continuous improvement – all geared toward reliably providing power to the people who rely on it. 

But for Black Hills Energy, safety and reliability go hand in hand. Safety is woven into every task our employees tackle. Crews work around high voltages, specialized equipment and constantly changing field conditions. That’s why safety remains a core value throughout the organization.

"The safety culture here is a very big deal," Trevor said. "It helps you ease your mind knowing that you and everybody else around you want to go home safe every single night." 

That commitment extends beyond employees. Every infrastructure investment, maintenance project and system upgrade is ultimately aimed at helping provide customers with safe, reliable service. Reliability and safety are our key priorities as we continue making everyday investments in Colorado.

For Trevor, one of the most rewarding parts of the job is knowing that the work matters. The crews recently loaded materials for a project involving streetlights that would support accessibility improvements near sidewalks and pedestrian areas. The project included new poles, lighting equipment and supporting hardware.

Those investments, Trevor said, help create safer spaces for people using wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility devices while moving through the community after dark. It’s just one more example of how everyday work can have a lasting impact. 

These impacts are personal to the crew members that make them happen. Storm restoration, emergency response and around-the-clock service often require employees to miss holidays, family gatherings and important milestones. Yet crews continue answering the call because they understand the importance of the service they provide.

"I want customers to know that the employees at Black Hills Energy, we're people too," Trevor said. "We give up birthdays, weddings, different important dates. We give up a lot of our personal lives and free time to make sure that everybody has reliable, quality power. It’s important to us."

As communities continue to grow and energy needs evolve, Black Hills Energy remains focused on making everyday investments that strengthen infrastructure, support reliability and prepare for the future.

For employees like Trevor, that work is about more than poles, wires and equipment. It is about serving neighbors, supporting communities and helping deliver the energy our communities depend on every season of the year.

Most customers may never see the planning, preparation and dedication that happen behind the scenes. But on the hottest summer day, the coldest winter night and every day in between, crews are working to keep safety first and reliability at the center of everything they do.

Learn more about how we’re investing in safety and reliability in Colorado.