Sources: Georgia Power, U.S. Department of Energy
If you want to know where the energy jobs are, look up at the power lines.
Electric power transmission and distribution added 17,900 workers nationwide in 2025, according to the Department of Energy's 2026 U.S. Energy and Employment Report, released this month. Across transmission, distribution and storage, the country added about 28,000 workers, bringing that workforce to 1.5 million.
Georgia shows what that looks like on the ground.
200 lineworkers a year
Georgia Power hired more than 200 lineworkers in 2025 and plans to hire about 200 more every year for the foreseeable future, the company said this spring. Its Power Delivery organization, the team that builds and maintains the wires, hires around 700 people a year across all roles.
"Georgia continues to be the number one place for new businesses and industry, and that growth is creating real opportunities for high paying, high demand jobs across the state," said Lindsay Hill, Georgia Power's senior vice president of human resources.
New plants, new factories and new neighborhoods all need power delivered to them. Every mile of new line and every new substation needs a crew to build it and a crew to keep it running.
The path in takes weeks, not years
This is the part too few people know. You do not need a four year degree to become a lineworker in Georgia.
More than 60 percent of Georgia Power's new lineworkers come out of Electrical Lineworker Apprentice Certification programs, known as ELAC, at the state's technical colleges, the company said. Those programs take 8 to 12 weeks. Many students complete them nearly free through Georgia's HOPE Grants.
The schools offering ELAC programs, per Georgia Power:
- Atlanta Technical College
- Coastal Pines Technical College
- Georgia Northwestern Technical College
- Georgia Piedmont Technical College
- North Georgia Technical College
- South Georgia Technical College
- West Georgia Technical College
- ELITE Lineman Training Institute
That map covers the whole state, from metro Atlanta to the coast to South Georgia. A student in almost any corner of Georgia has a program within driving distance.
Once hired, new lineworkers go through a multi-year apprenticeship with the company, and experienced crews keep training throughout their careers. The company offers competitive pay along with health, welfare and retirement benefits.
Why the paycheck matters
Energy work pays. The median energy sector salary was $63,000 in the new DOE report, 24 percent higher than the national median of $51,000.
For a high school graduate, a 12-week program that leads to a career with a paycheck like that is one of the best deals in the American economy. For a rural county, a lineworker is a neighbor with a steady job who spends money at the hardware store, coaches Little League and shows up after the storm.
A national model
Employers told DOE they are having a particularly hard time finding construction, installation, repair and electrically skilled workers. Short, low cost certificate programs tied directly to utility hiring are one of the fastest ways to close that gap.
The trend is moving the right way. New registered construction apprentices reached 112,000 in 2025, up 9 percent from 103,000 in 2024, per the DOE report.
Georgia's approach is simple and it scales: the utility says how many people it needs, the technical colleges train them in weeks, state grants cover most of the cost, and graduates walk into an apprenticeship with a paycheck.
The bottom line
The grid is hiring. Georgia Power alone plans to bring on about 200 lineworkers a year, and the door in is a 12-week program at a technical college down the road. That is a career, a paycheck and a job that keeps the lights on for everyone else.
Interested? Georgia Power posts openings on its careers site, and the technical colleges above list ELAC start dates on their own pages.
Sources
Georgia Power, Georgia Power highlights career opportunities during Lineworker Appreciation Month (April 8, 2026). Follow @GeorgiaPower
U.S. Department of Energy, 2026 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (September 2026)
