Bucket trucks are Tucson Electric Power’s most iconic vehicles, frequently seen lifting crews more than 40 feet in the air to repair power lines.
But our fleet actually includes a wide variety of vehicles, from the massive Condor – equipped with a 125-foot lift – to relatively tiny golf carts. Our nearly 800 vehicles include standard pickups, forklifts, flatbeds and even a snow track machine to reach communication towers on Mount Bigelow in the Santa Catalina Mountains in the winter.
TEP’s vehicles are critical for digging holes for poles, carrying heavy poles out to job sites and helping crews reach the top of the tallest poles.
In 2018, the company’s vehicles traveled 4.1 million miles and helped our crews complete more than 28,000 work orders, including substation and power line improvements, tree trimming and telecommunication upgrades. That workload makes our Fleet Services team of auto mechanics, support staff and supervisors critical to TEP’s mission of providing safe, reliable electricity to customers.
“Our team has expertise across a truly diverse mix of vehicles,” said Julie Gomez, Transmission and Distribution Supervisor, who oversees Fleet Services. “Some jobs may include hydraulic repairs to bucket trucks, engine repairs to pickup trucks, and maintenance services to all vehicles. Every one of them is important in providing some function that helps our company fulfill its mission.”
Company vehicles, including mobile light towers, also may be used to support TEP’s charity work in the community. Our crews have used bucket trucks to help volunteers hang American flags, string holiday lights in the Winterhaven neighborhood and assist with the annual Parade of Lights in downtown Tucson.
Our auto mechanics performed nearly 1,500 oil changes in 2018 to keep fleet vehicles running optimally. Fleet Services maintains an extensive inventory of spare parts so vehicles can quickly get back into rotation.
“We’re very focused on making improvements to increase our efficiency and we’re honored to support the other teams across the company in the work they do for our customers,” Gomez said.
