Little Rock - Last winter produced one of the worst ice storms in Arkansas history leaving 111,000 Entergy customers were left without power, some for days, and it took thousands of line workers to restore their electricity.  Now, crews are gearing up for this winter in case events repeat themselves.

Before they work in the field, though, they are trained in controlled conditions about the dangers of dealing with thousands of volts of live electricity.

(Mike Duncan, Entergy Safety Specialist)
"The training is critical. It's vitally important, because everything they do is hazardous. We can't duplicate everything they'll see in the real world, but we do try to duplicate as much as we can to be better prepared when they come upon situations."

Not only are they working with 8,000 volts of electricity, they have to do it more than 50 feet off the ground.  That, Veteran Lineman John Wilkins says, makes it tough, especially when you throw in freezing winds, ice and long hours.

(John Wilkins, Entergy Lineman)
"You've worked 16 hours straight for seven or eight days, it's hard not to get distracted or fatigued, but you have to stay focused the whole time. All it takes is one slip."

Entergy crews restored more than 4,000 miles of power lines during January's ice storms, and replaced 44,000 poles.  Wilkins says it's stressful, but knowing he's helping put electricity back in people's homes is rewarding.

(John Wilkins, Entergy Lineman)
"Especially when they come out and thank you, we've had people cook us fish, bake us cookies. It's really a neat thing."

Linemen go through 4 years of training before they're allowed to work out in the field alone.

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