A. Position : Serviceman’s Assistant

B. Position Function:
1. Under the direction of the Line Superintendent, the Serviceman’s
Assistant is responsible for assisting in building, maintaining and repairing
overhead and underground power distribution and transmission lines
within the scope of his/her training and certification in a safe and efficient
manner within accepted operation standards, approved policies and
procedures.

C. Reporting Relationships:
1. Reports to: Line Superintendent, Working Foreman and Serviceman,
respectively.

D. Duties and responsibilities:
1. Use apprentice or journeyman-level knowledge of electrical line work to
safely construct and maintain electric transmission and distribution lines.
Climbs poles of all types and performs jobs required of lineman off the
poles, including changing out of arms, transformers, conductors, etc.
2. Must have general and specific apprentice or journeyman knowledge in
order to construct, maintain and repair electrical systems, both cold and
energized (hot) lines.
3. Must have a working knowledge of substation equipment including
breakers, voltage regulators, load tap changers, circuit switchers,
transformers, etc. in order to provide power to the system.
4. Must have working knowledge of the portion of the electrical system
within their designated service area, including the manner in which the
system feeds, key switching, isolation and tie points and the sequence
order within the system.
5. Connects and disconnects member accounts as directed or necessary.
Assigns Sequence Numbers to new member accounts that uniformly fit
within the meter reading sequence.
6. Drives and operates a service truck to deal with the potential problems
upon the system. Will have designated responsibility for a specific service
area, although the Serviceman’s Assistant will be called upon to assist
within other service areas.
7. Inspects existing power lines primarily with designated service areas,
looking for problems and maintaining inspection logs. Trouble shoots
problems and retires old power lines as required.
8. Responds to power outages and customer problems and trouble shoots to
restore power in a timely manner.
9. Assists in the direction, guidance and training of personnel in lower level
apprenticeship programs or equivalent. All training shall contain
emphasis on safe working practices.
10. Maintains current knowledge of equipment, RUS specification, OSHA
regulations, mapping system, Cooperative Policies and other operational
and regulatory systems related to the responsibilities of the position.
11. Provides customer service as needed and appropriate. Interacts with
members though direct contact to insure customer satisfaction and ongoing
communication.
12. Promotes electric use by taking every opportunity to acquaint the
members/consumers with the productive uses of electricity, obtaining
increased member and public understanding of the Cooperative’s
objectives, plans and programs and of rural electrification in general.
13. Serves on-call as per CVEC’s policies. Assists in restoring electric service
while on-call.
14. Assist line crews, as required.
15. Installs and disconnects meters. Reads and records data as required.
16. The list of responsibilities is not intended to be all inclusive and may
be expanded to include other duties that Management or Staff deems
necessary.

E. Other Information:
The Serviceman’s Assistant is responsible for insuring the continuous
performance and reliability of the Cooperative’s distribution lines, primarily
within a designated service area. Within the parameters dictated by managers,
Cooperative Policy and applicable RUS, OSHA, DOT and other regulatory
requirements, this position has latitude to identify and solve problems and make
decisions necessary to manage the operation of the electric distribution system
dependent on training, experience and certification.

F. Working Relationships:
1. Department
Line Department-This department is responsible for the physical equipment and
plant involved in safely and efficiently distributing electricity to each
member/consumer. This includes construction and maintenance of electric
distribution equipment and facilities. This also includes repairing
emergency/hazardous conditions, resolving consumer trouble calls and
developing system upgrades. There are also contacts with the power supplier,
consulting engineers and other people involved in the utility business.
2. Reporting Relationships
Although the Serviceman’s Assistant may delegate portions of his/her
responsibilities, no portion of accountability for results may be delegated or
relinquished. The Serviceman’s Assistant may retain functional authority
over specific projects or areas of responsibility as specified in this position
description or otherwise delegated by the Line Superintendent, the Working
Foreman or Serviceman.

G. Coordinates or Cooperates With:
1. Superintendent-Requests advice and assistance and confers on operational and
personnel problems, provides advice, assistance and information on employee
development, work planning, policy planning and other areas as assigned.
2. Managers and Supervisors-Work with all department managers and supervisors
to coordinate CVEC’s electrical requirements. Exchanges information and job
experiences that would be mutually beneficial to each functional area within
the cooperative.
3. Serviceman-Requests and accepts guidance, advice and instruction as required
to perform his/her duties, within scope of his/her training and certification in a
safe and efficient manner within accepted operation standards, approved
policies and procedures.
4. Billing Department-Works with the billing department to ensure proper
sequence numbers and meters are assigned to the appropriate member accounts.
Connects and disconnects various member accounts.
5. Other Employees-Maintains harmonious, courteous and understanding
relationships, while fostering a collaborative teamwork environment. Provides
coaching and counseling as appropriate on personnel matters.
6. Line Foreman-Works with the Working Foreman and other journeymen or
apprentice linemen as assigned. May work with the Line Superintendent
on special projects as assigned.

H. External Relationships:
1. Members-Establishes the recognition and acceptance of ownership benefits
and responsibility to encourage and promote the effective and efficient use of
electric energy. Provides helpful, courteous assistance and service.
2. General Public- Presents a friendly, courteous image for the Cooperative.
3. Power Companies and Other Cooperatives- Exchanges information that would
be mutually beneficial and helpful in maintaining good working relationships,
particularly with the power supplier’s dispatch and control center.
4. Legal and Regulatory Agencies- Maintains professional relationship with
agencies and organizations involved in safety and other applicable regulations.

I. Authorities and Accountabilities:
1. General Authority:
The Serviceman’s Assistant has the responsibility of maintenance and repair of
overhead and underground power lines primarily within the serviceman’s
designated service area and under the direction and supervision of the
Serviceman. Work may be varied; problems are difficult and methods are
defined and judgment is required to apply them to work. This position has
limited authority though the Superintendent to make decisions that may have a
moderate impact on Cooperative operations. He/She recognizes the need to
understand that the Cooperative’s best interests can be directly affected by
his/her actions.

J. Position Requirements:
1. Skills and knowledge normally acquired through a high school diploma and
completion of an approved apprenticeship lineman program is required. Two
to five years in electric utility distribution operation is required.
2. Must possess knowledge of RUS line specifications, National Electric Safety
Code, OSHA Rules and Regulations and cooperative policies and procedures.
3. Must possess basic technical utility knowledge, skills and abilities to perform
transformer hook ups, install meters, operate electrical substation devices,
ability to use tools and machinery.
4. Must be able to effectively read and follow operations and safety manuals.
5. Must be able to follow directions and work with other servicemen,
journeymen, apprentice linemen and warehouse personnel as assigned.
6. Must be able to communicate with the Line Superintendent, construction
foreman and work with people to solve problems.
7. Must be able to attend work on a regular and predictable basis. Work is
regularly scheduled Monday through Friday, and must be available to respond
after normal working hours and on weekends.
8. Must possess good judgment skills.
9. Must be a team player.
10. Must possess a high level of integrity.
11. Must be honest and trustworthy.
12. Must be courteous and friendly and able to work well within diverse groups of
people.
13. Must be able to gain and maintain the respect of others, both inside and
outside the Cooperative.
14. Must be able to operate heavy machines and equipment. Must be able to
operate hand or power tools in field operations, to include: pole climbing
gear, hydraulic tamps, power line conductors, secondary wires and volt/ohm
meters.
15. Must be able to travel through out the service area. Other travel outside the
service area may be assigned.
16. Must possess a valid New Mexico driver’s license and have the ability to
obtain a Commercial Driver’s License as required. Must be eligible to be and
remain insured as a driver by the Cooperative’s group liability policy for the
automotive fleet.

K. Physical Demands:
1. Good physical condition and dexterity is required. This includes walking,
stooping, bending, climbing, kneeling, reaching, crawling, pushing, pulling,
working in awkward positions and enclosed spaces. Lifting up to 75 lbs. is
frequently required, with occasional lifting in excess of 75 lbs.
2. Must be able to communicate clearly and accurately and possess good hearing
as needed for work and safety compliance in a hot line environment.
3. Must possess visual color perception in order to differentiate wire and part
colors.
4. Must be able to work mostly outside in close proximity to hot line construction
and maintenance of energized conductors in varying weather conditions.
5. Must be able to work safely due to exposure to the hazards of electrical shocks
and burns as well as to falls.
6. Must be willing to submit to random alcohol and drug testing per company
policy.

About Central Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc.

Central Valley Electric Cooperative is a rural electric distribution cooperative located in Artesia, New Mexico, United States. Incepted in 1937, we serve over 4,000 consumers, over 15,000 meters and over 4,200 miles of line in rural southeastern New Mexico.

Connections working at Central Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc.