CHARLOTTE – October 21, 2026 -- Duke Energy lineworkers won six awards, including two first-place finishes, at the International Lineman's Rodeo held Oct. 17 in Bonner Springs, Kansas, where about 1,250 competitors from around the world took part.
Duke Energy's journeyman teams take two first places and a second overall
Justin McCarson, Heath Burrell and Miles Bell placed second overall in the journeyman division. The same trio also won the Journeyman Mystery Event #1 and took second in the Journeyman IOU category.
Keith Griffin, Jay Tipton and Sandy Barnhill won the journeyman seniors division. Matthew Clark, Danny Haithcock and Hunter Boone placed second in that division. Tyler Nickols, Joshua Buckner and Tyler Manick finished fourth in Journeyman IOU.
57 lineworkers qualified through regional rodeos held earlier in 2026
Duke Energy sent 57 lineworkers to the event. Each earned a spot by ranking among the top performers at the company's regional rodeos. The competition has run for more than 40 years, with events modeled on real-world grid maintenance and power restoration tasks. Judges score speed, agility, technique and adherence to safety procedures.
Self-healing grid technology can restore service in under a minute
Duke Energy ties the competition to field work such as maintaining and upgrading the grid, restoring power after severe weather and supporting growing communities in its service territories. Lineworkers also install self-healing technology that detects outages, automatically reroutes power and often restores service in less than a minute.
Scott Batson, executive vice president and chief power grid officer, said the competitors reflect the skill and discipline that Duke Energy lineworkers bring to customers daily.
McCarson, a senior engineering technologist from Hendersonville, N.C., said the award "is bigger than any one person," citing teamwork and trust as central to the job.
Duke Energy said it continues to invest in grid modernization and resiliency improvements. Its electric utilities serve 8.7 million customers across six states.