Our utilities are the lifeblood of our country. Without them, communities shut down, business grinds to a halt, and individuals’ lives are at stake. But as a country, we have not been investing in them the way we should be in recent decades.

The amount of infrastructure to be maintained is increasing, the number of customers requiring service has gone up, and threats from cybersecurity attacks and climate change continue to escalate.

This has made it increasingly difficult-if not impossible-for utility workers to keep the physical systems they operate in acceptable working condition.

Meanwhile, the number of much needed and highly skilled jobs like line workers, transmission and distribution technicians, and the number of plant operators have been dropping. Not only has the number been declining due to the disproportionately older utility workforce reaching retirement, but all utilities– whether providing electric, gas, or water services–have slashed their workforces in recent decades as a response to aggressive deregulation initiatives.

Sign to show your support for these practical steps to invest in the next generation of utility workers:

• Establish baseline staffing levels for utility field and operations staff, and require periodic reviews by regulators of the extent to which those levels are being met

• Require utilities to take sensible actions to address workforce “graying” concerns, thereby ensuring that there will be qualified replacements in place when our older workers reach retirement age

• Conduct evaluations of utility maintenance practices, require that utilities set sensible maintenance budgets, and demand that utilities spend those budgets on actual maintenance work