Williamsport, Pa. -- Restoration of electrical power in the wake of a natural disaster or wintry weather or in the aftermath of a man-made horror such as occurred on 9/11, has become an all-too-frequent necessity in the recent past.
Power lines snap, infrastructure crumbles, and countless homes and businesses are plunged into darkness and confusion. As storms ripped the Gulf Coast, for instance, media coverage regularly included the marshaling of emergency generators for use while utility crews diligently worked to get customers more permanently back online.
For those in the field, however, Hurricane Katrina and her headline-grabbing cousins only serve to accentuate a void that exists year-round: the thirst for reliable generators of standby power -- and the even-more-reliable technicians to service them.
One need look no further than his or her own community to see the extent of opportunities for an emergency-generator technician, and Pennsylvania College of Technology's two-year electric power generation technology (EPG) major is helping to fill that niche.
"It is extremely rewarding to know that what you do in this field is very much a large part of our nationwide infrastructure, when it comes to providing reliable electricity," said Kenneth C. Kuhns, assistant professor of electrical technology/occupations. "This program can open many doors in the pursuit of a successful career."
In fact, the college's industry partners said the need can be summed up in one simple question: "Where are the facilities that can't afford to be without power? Airports ... hospitals ... universities," explained Cliff Barnes, general manager/product support for the Bensalem-based Giles and Ransome Inc. There are the obvious implications of an outage at a health-care facility, military installation or anywhere else where safety and security could be compromised by a loss of power.
Penn College's EPG major was launched in 2001, a time when "rolling blackouts" were commonplace along California's sapped power grids, and it remains a prime example of the institution's responsiveness to its industry partners.
"The Caterpillar dealers had a great voice in its development," recalled Ronald Garber, service administration manager for Giles and Ransome. A member of one of the college's advisory committees -- corporate experts who inhabit the "real world" into which graduates move -- he said CAT personnel were allowed substantial input into the development of the curriculum.
One of the few such programs in the East, Penn College's power-generation curriculum is equally unique for its cross-discipline structure. Students take courses both in the School of Construction and Design Technologies' electrical technology department, an essential training component, and the School of Natural Resources Management, where they are provided the knowledge to install, troubleshoot and service diesel- and natural-gas-powered generator sets.
Graduates are prepared to work as power-generation technicians, technical sales consultants, industrial maintenance or field-service technicians, sales representatives and service managers. Supplementing the major's instructional caliber are the college's Caterpillar partners, who hire its graduates and whose steadfast support is reflected in a 100-percent placement rate.
"The day-to-day events of this job are what really make it exciting to go to work each day," said Matthew J. Strine of York, a May 2004 graduate in EPG, employed in Cleveland Brothers' Industrial Engine Division. "An office job or working in the same shop day in and day out would grow very old. Yesterday, I was at the top of a mountain working at a cellular-phone site and, today, I was a mile underground in a mine working on a generator; those are just two places you won't see at a regular job."
Most of the generator sets on which Strine works are for standby, emergency applications -- hospitals, airports, schools, factories, military bases, even some prisons -- but he said he also works at prime power sites, including co-generation plants such as landfills that have engines running on methane emissions.
"Overhauling and maintaining engines that have twin turbochargers the size of truck tires and pistons 12 inches across is something not a whole lot of people get to do, especially at my age," said Strine. He and fellow alumnus Joseph A. Duskasky of Wapwallopen worked on and off throughout college for Cleveland Brothers CAT, so they had sufficient on-the-job collateral to quickly make their mark. "I am by no means an expert, but, with the background I got from Penn College, I have the knowledge and skills I need to advance quickly."
Another of those fast-track alumni -- and a member of the college's first EPG graduating class -- is Jacob Vough, Markelton, who is distinguishing himself as a field-service technician with Beckwith Machinery Co., a Caterpillar affiliate in Murrysville. Originally enrolled in diesel equipment technology, he was asked by his eventual employer to consider a career change.
"Growing up on a farm, I was heavy into the mechanics of things and really enjoyed doing electrical work," he remembered. "So when Beckwith directed me toward this new major, it was a no-brainer for me. They were helping to pay for my education, I was guaranteed a job out of college, and -- on most days -- it's cleaner than working on trucks!"
Vough knows firsthand the daily variety of fieldwork, and he's satisfied with the mix of duties. One day might find him doing an oil change at a hospital; a recent assignment saw him performing maintenance work at a landfill power facility where 36 16-cylinder engines put out 6 megawatts of power.
He is grateful for his Penn College training, a blend of classroom experience and hands-on laboratory work, but also for the opportunities for education beyond the college's campuses.
"I can understand the excitement and enthusiasm that Matt Strine, Joe Duskasky and Jacob Vough find in their work," said Kuhns, whose leadership in the EPG major was affirmed with his 2003 selection as Caterpillar's first "Pathfinder to Excellence" faculty award-winner. "I worked with these folks and others over the past five years, both when they were students here at Penn College and after graduation, as they found themselves working in the field."
For more information about the electric power generation technology major at Penn College, visit http://www.pct.edu/schools/nrm/pg/ online, send e-mail to pg@pct.edu or call the Admissions Office at (800) 367-9222.