Crews from 13 of Florida's municipal electric utilities gathered for the 2026 Florida Lineman Competition at Tallahassee's Apalachee Regional Park Saturday and Sunday, March 14 and 15. Amy Zubaly is the executive director of the Florida Municipal Electric Association, which hosts the event.
"When we're working hurricane restoration, you're working with crews from all across the country and you have to be able to work together. So today, they're fierce competitors, but on the job and out in the real world, they work really closely together and everybody's focused on each other, making sure they're getting the job done safely and getting the power restored to customers as quickly as possible."
Events included pole climbing, safety protocols and equipment handling. All of which can come in handy when storms take out big chunks of the power grid. One of the competitors was Talquin Electric's Wayne Young. He said there's still a need for old-fashioned pole climbing skills.
"Things you can't get to with a truck, you got to climb with hooks and you learn new ways to do things that really help. A bucket truck's more efficient, but sometimes you can't use a bucket truck and a lot of people that ain't never done this, they don't know."
It was the 25th year for the competition. The City of Tallahassee's Electric Utility wound up winning both the Overall Journeyman Team and Overall Apprentice awards this year.
