IBEW 1245 Barehanding Team at Los Banos Sub
Long ago, in 1989, IBEW 1245 and PG&E agreed to explore implementing barehand standards for working energized 230KV and 500KV with a “hands on” procedure. In 1990, a letter agreement, 90-34, was signed; it called for the creation of a Barehand Working Committee that would benchmark other utilities, study writing procedures, approve tools and anything else associated with “barehanding.”
While agreements have been frequently updated since 1990, the overview committee remained and met quarterly until 2020. After 2 serious incidents over a few months, barehanding was “paused.” In November of 2023, PG&E leadership unilaterally made the decision to go from “pause” to cancel or prohibit, virtually scrapping the 35-year partnership on barehanding.
IBEW 1245’s leadership and our 1245 transmission members shared our disappointment with PG&E leadership. After much discussion, PG&E agreed to sit down with experienced “barehanders” to bring back the work. The joint Barehand Working Committee meets each Thursday in Los Banos Sub. With their amazing passion and commitment, we are getting closer to seeing our members perform this highly skilled work again. The goal is to have a new agreement signed before the end of the year.
IBEW 1245 wants to give big thanks and gratitude to our team: Greg Raymond, KC Nancolas, Jered Merkel, Matt Taylor and Travis Doyle get the credit, as well as Business Representative Casey Barker.
- Bob Gerstle, IBEW 1245 Sr. Assistant Business Manager