The Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation (DEMEC) celebrated the groundbreaking of their Joint Lineworker Training Yard today.

The Joint Lineworker Training Yard is designed to support workforce development and safety training for apprentice and journeyman lineworkers for DEMEC’s municipal member utilities. Phases are planned to include climbing, transformers, substations, bucket trucks, meters, and other trainings.

Local and state officials, federal representatives, state elected officials, and industry professionals joined DEMEC and its members to celebrate this momentous occasion at a ribbon cutting ceremony in the Smyrna Business Park onsite at the training yard. DEMEC’s training yard will be the only of one its kind in the state of Delaware, offering local, certified training for new and seasoned lineworkers at a 66% savings to member communities.

“As a joint action agency and not-for-profit, DEMEC is always looking for economies of scale opportunities to bring our members additional savings. Safety and education are part of our organization’s core values and lineworkers are the backbone of public power. We are pleased to support our members’ workforce, resilience, and reliability through a diverse training yard,” said Kimberly Schlichting, DEMEC President & CEO.

DEMEC would like to thank the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association (TVPPA), Ensales, and our member communities for providing support and donating time and materials to help bring this initiative forward.

"The DEMEC Board of Directors is excited to see the training yard coming together after years of hard work by DEMEC leadership and staff. It provides our electric crews with local training that keeps lineworkers close to home and significant cost savings to the community,” stated Morris Deputy, DEMEC Board Chair and Town Manager of the Town of Middletown, “This training yard is the perfect example of the types of value-added shared services DEMEC provides as an integral partner of our community electric utilities.” 

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