HOUSTON – The saying “It takes an army to build something great” couldn’t be more apt for CenterPoint Energy’s work to strengthen infrastructure.

Houston’s power utility has assembled an army of workers to make its grid more resilient to massive outages.

Following the May derecho and subsequent Hurricane Beryl, CenterPoint faced two major setbacks in managing power restoration.

Due in part to an executive order from Governor Greg Abbott, thousands of men and women are now working nonstop to improve the electrical distribution system that supplies power to your home.

It is part of a larger plan the company put together in response to the inadequate response to Hurricane Beryl.

They wanted to focus on three big things: installing better poles, trimming vegetation, and installing automated systems to prevent power outages.

You have set yourself some high goals and are already well on your way to achieving them.

CenterPoint Energy invited KPRC 2’s Gage Goulding to support front-line workers in achieving these goals.

The morning begins before the sun even rises. The teams leave their command posts and arrive at our first location in Magnolia by 6:40 a.m.

Their job is to remove old wooden poles and replace them with new fiberglass poles.

“I did that for two years,” said Cody Preuss, training director at CenterPoint Energy.

He has been with the company since 1998. Preuss is a walking example of how hard work can pay off.

He started at the very bottom of the billiards league and literally worked his way up the career ladder until he finally became the person responsible for training young men and women to become journeymen.

“I had a passion for safety and technical training,” he said. “I really wanted to get to where the teaching process was. I felt like I needed that.”

He has experienced the safety and security issues and all the other challenges that the guys and girls in the field have to face every day.

Cody Preuss: “Whatever you say, it can happen.”

Gage Goulding: “Installing a new power pole sounds like it would be easy. Dig a hole, put the pole in and run the cables along it. But it’s not that easy?”

Cody Preuss: “No, it’s not. What they don’t see are bad animals, gardens, bad gardens, trees and vegetation that are in the way.”

Plus, it’s hot. Really hot.

Cody Preuss: “Feels like over 100.”

Gage Goulding: “It’s almost horrible to work out here.”

Cody Preuss: “It can get bad. Yes.”

Preuss, like many other workers, was without power during both Hurricane Beryl and the derecho.

They left their families and their homes to turn their electricity back on.

Gage Goulding: “It seems that this job requires a person of a special caliber.”

Cody Preuss: “It certainly does. It definitely does.”

While we were talking, the crew put the mast in the ground and it was time to move on to see the crews trimming back the vegetation.

“Workers like these are a very special breed of people,” says Gary O’Neil, a forester with CenterPoint Energy.

This is no joke. High up in a small bucket, dancing around 35,000-volt cables and, on top of that, temperatures that feel like they’re flirting with 100 degrees.

“They actually thrive working near power lines, potentially in high-risk situations,” O’Neil said.

Everything these teams do is risky. Up there in the trucks and down on the ground.

Gary O’Neil: “If you are the person on the ground, you must stay out of the work zone.”

Gage Goulding: “Do you find that the community is grateful and thanks you for what you do?”

Gary O’Neil: “People often welcome us and bring Gatorade and cookies to the arborists.”

It’s not all hard work. Working as a power lineman also has rewarding aspects, such as restoring power to millions of people.

But before you get there, you have to overcome what could the biggest obstacle of all: the height.

Line workers spend all day moving masts up and down, either the old-fashioned way or using a cherry picker.

Cody Preuss: “It’s a mental thing.”

Gage Goulding: “Do you sometimes get scared when the bucket starts to shake when you stop?”

Cody Preuss: “I’ll be honest: When I started, I didn’t like it, I really didn’t.”

Maybe you’ll get used to it. Maybe you won’t.

But it is helping their neighbors and their city that keeps these line workers from moving up.

“It’s a very rewarding career,” said Preuss. “And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”