A PowerOutage.com Podcast
Closed and Holding: The Podcast for Linemen
Every outage has a story. Journeyman lineman Thomas Williamson talks storm calls, near misses, leadership, laughs and the brotherhood of the men and women keeping the grid alive.
About the show
A Lineman Podcast Named for the Words Every Crew Knows
“Closed and holding.”
When the switching's done and the lights come back on, the crew radios dispatch three words: “closed and holding.” For a minute, the radio goes quiet. That's where this podcast lives.
Closed and Holding is a podcast for linemen, by a lineman. Host Thomas Williamson has spent more than 16 years in the trade. Every episode covers the stuff that doesn't make it off the right of way: storm stories, near misses, call-out chaos, leadership on the crew and the laughs that keep you sane on a 16-hour day.
This isn't an engineering lecture. It's real talk from the field, between linemen, contractors, utilities and the people who support them. When everyone understands the other side's job a little better, the work gets safer and the lights come on faster.
Closed and Holding is produced by PowerOutage.com, the outage tracker used by storm crews, utilities, emergency managers and national weather networks.
Photos courtesy of Thomas Williamson.
Founder, United Powerline SolutionsMeet the host
Hosted by Journeyman Lineman Thomas Williamson
Thomas Williamson started as a groundman who didn't know what a lineman was. He worked his way up to permanent foreman at a utility. After about 10 years there, he went on the road, working systems from California to New York to Detroit.
After seeing how things worked at different utilities and contractors, he and his wife put every nickel they had into starting United Powerline Solutions. He wanted it to be the company he always wanted to work for as a lineman. Today the company handles storm restoration, blue-sky work and system upgrades.
Thomas also hosts PowerGridTalks and speaks around the industry about safety, communication and taking care of the men and women on the crew.
- 16+ years In the trade
- Founder United Powerline Solutions
- PowerGridTalks Also hosts
Stay connected
Follow Closed and Holding wherever you listen, and on social media. Share it with the guys on your crew. Got a storm story that's too good not to tell? Send it to thomas@poweroutage.com.
Send Thomas your story