Meet High Voltage Maintenance Lineworker, Michael “Yoga Mike” Conroy, who recently joined the SFPUC. As an electrical lineworker, Conroy’s day-to-day responsibilities vary. From helping other lineworkers, digging trenches, breaking and refinishing concrete, to installing new light poles and removing old ones, Conroy makes certain that all circuits are properly connected to ensure the street lights are on and working for San Franciscans.

Every year, during the first full week of October, public power utilities across the country celebrate Public Power Week to highlight the benefits of community-owned electricity providers, such as lower rates, better service reliability, cleaner energy, and more community oversight. It’s during this time that we take a moment to celebrate the impact and work of San Francisco’s public power utility: Hetch Hetchy Power.

“You know how when you’re a kid, you kind of hate where you come from? Not me. It’s actually something I have always been very proud of,” said Jorge Torres. “I’m from Kern County, where Cesar Chavez organized the Delano Grape Worker Strike,” Torres said about the famous strike that began in 1965 when farm workers refused to work picking grapes near Bakersfield, California