PowerGridTalks: From the Bucket Trucks to the Boardrooms

About PowerGridTalks: From the Bucket Trucks to the Boardrooms

PowerGridTalks: From the Bucket Trucks to the Boardrooms is a podcast hosted by Thomas Williamson, that bridges the gap between the field and the executive suite in the electric utility industry. Each episode dives into real conversations with linemen, utility leaders, and industry decision-makers to uncover the challenges, innovations, and stories shaping our power grid. From storm response and safety in the trenches to policy shifts and boardroom strategies, PowerGridTalks brings every perspective to the table. It's where the voices of the people keeping the lights on meet the leaders guiding the future of energy.

Publisher

Thomas Williamson

Category

business · business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

8 Sept 2025

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

32 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026

   Ep 32 - The Lineman Songwriter: Darren Thomas on 39 Years of Line Life

   39 years on the line. Now he's writing what it costs. Darren Thomas is an Oklahoma lineman who learned to write songs from his grandma and his dad, and he's turning a career's worth of storms, brotherhood, and hard lessons into music for the trade. On this episode, host Thomas Williamson sits down with Darren in the Oklahoma heat to talk about his start at a small rural co-op, working Katrina, and why "you sign everything you touch, from a shovel handle to a hoist handle." Darren shares the story behind his songs "Line Life," written for linemen everywhere, and "What I Gave the Whiskey," a hard look at what the trade can take from you and the phone call that showed him why it mattered. He also has advice for apprentices, explains why "slow is fast," and talks about losing friends to line work and where he hopes his music goes next. Presented by Tallman Equipment Company. (2:48) - 39 Years on the Line: How Darren Got Started (4:07) - Storm Work, Katrina & the Brotherhood (6:03) - Retirement Plans & a Return to Songwriting (8:09) - The Story Behind "Line Life" (10:27) - "You Sign Everything You Touch" (10:54) - "Line Life" (Song Excerpt) (11:55) - Lessons from the Old Foreman (13:35) - Line Work Isn't for Everybody (15:55) - A Catalog of 35 Songs & 200 Poems (17:55) - "What I Gave the Whiskey" & the Cost of the Trade (20:22) - The Phone Call That Made It Worth It (21:39) - "What I Gave the Whiskey" (Song Excerpt) (24:01) - Advice for New Linemen: Be Humble (26:09) - "Slow Is Fast" (28:33) - Losing Friends to Line Work & Staying Focused (30:46) - What's Next: Songs on the Radio (32:20) - Performing at Lineman Events? (34:22) - Where to Find Darren's Music (37:39) - Closing & Sign-Off For more episodes, show notes, and to connect with the show, visit https://powergridtalks.com/. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, share it with someone in the industry, and leave a review. It helps us bring more voices from across the utility world to the conversation.

2. 

   7 Oct 2026

   Ep 31 - Lineman Hall of Famer Bill Bosch on Safety Culture, Training & the Future of the Trade

   47 years in the trade. A spot in the Lineman Hall of Fame, right alongside his father. And the man who wrote National Lineman Appreciation Day on a napkin. Bill Bosch has spent his career leaving a mark on line work, and he's not done yet. On this episode, host Tom Williamson sits down with Bill in Orlando to talk about growing up around the legends of AB Chance, his father's role in saving NASA's Skylab, and the moment early in his career that changed how he saw the job forever. Now VP of Safety & Training at Gridco, Bill makes the case that compliance alone only makes a company "safe on paper," and that real safety comes from a culture of training, mentoring, and coaching. They also dig into why success starts and stops with the general foreman, what the next generation of linemen really wants from leadership, whether line school grads are ready for the field, the push for lineman first responder status, and why the trade is at a crossroads. Presented by Tallman Equipment Company. (3:29) - 47 Years in the Trade, Starting at Age 10 (6:58) - His Father & the Saving Skylab Story (10:23) - Train, Mentor, Coach: What Makes a Good Lineman (14:37) - The Moment That Humbled Him (18:37) - The Scariest Day: Topping Out (22:07) - Are We Producing the Same Caliber of Journeymen? (24:30) - Compliance vs. Culture: "Safe on Paper" (27:12) - Critical Thinking & Competency-Based Training (29:30) - Workforce Attrition & Growing From Within (31:31) - Success Starts and Stops with the GF (34:53) - What the Next Generation Really Wants (37:14) - Lineman Schools: Are Grads Ready? (41:16) - Advice for Line School Graduates (43:07) - Creating National Lineman Appreciation Day (47:28) - The Push for Lineman First Responder Status (52:21) - Lineman Hall of Fame: Father & Son (58:37) - The Trade at a Crossroads: Curbing Fatalities (1:03:24) - Advice for a 20-Year-Old Apprentice (1:04:52) - Closing & Sign-Off For more episodes, show notes, and to connect with the show, visit https://powergridtalks.com/. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, share it with someone in the industry, and leave a review. It helps us bring more voices from across the utility world to the conversation.

3. 

   23 Sept 2026

   Ep 30 - Inside the Storm Restoration Business: Center Phase Energy's Nicole Rhodes & Dustin Toney

   Storm restoration is big business and it isn't always pretty. Nicole Rhodes (CEO) and Dustin Toney (Director of Storm Operations) of Center Phase Energy join PowerGridTalks fresh off a brutal storm week in Oklahoma to talk about what really happens behind the scenes of line contracting. Host Thomas Williamson sits down with the Center Phase Energy team for a candid look at the gap between utility and contractor culture, the ugly side of storm work: subcontractor poaching, unaccountable aggregators, and a race-to-the-bottom bidding market. Plus the debate over lineman schools vs. traditional apprenticeships, why fatality rates are creeping back up, and why the industry's real threat is the shrinking workforce. Dustin also opens up about losing his brother to line work and what it's taught him about safety leadership. Presented by Tallman Equipment Company. (1:57) - Show Intro & Host Welcome (2:18) - Nicole's Path: Engineer to CEO (5:05) - Dustin's Origin Story: Cutting Teeth on Katrina (9:16) - Utility vs. Contractor: The Reality Check (15:48) - Vetting Contractors & Storm Chaos (26:33) - Resource Poaching & Accountability Gaps (40:21) - What Separates a Top-Tier Contractor (44:42) - Driving All Night: Safety and Dustin's Brother (48:38) - Lineman Schools vs. IBEW Apprenticeship (53:36) - Training for Safety vs. Training for Skill (58:08) - The Real Economics of Line Contracting (1:05:54) - Bid Work: A Race to the Bottom (1:09:04) - Fatalities, Safety & Sleepless Nights (1:14:41) - Workforce Shortage: The Industry's Biggest Threat (1:22:23) - Rapid Fire: Nicole & Dustin (1:35:24) - Storm Feedback & Closing Thoughts For more episodes, show notes, and to connect with the show, visit https://powergridtalks.com/. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe, share it with someone in the industry, and leave a review — it helps us bring more voices from across the utility world to the conversation.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

7 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact PowerGridTalks: From the Bucket Trucks to the Boardrooms

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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