In the 1960’s a group recognized a need for Power Engineering Safety Standards. This original group, which later became ESMOL (Engineering Safety Maintenance Overhead Lines) a sub-committee of the IEEE Power & Energy Society included:
| Floyd Buchholz | Hank Heerspink |
| Mark Charest | Wayne Jackson |
| Bill Cole | Hank Kientz |
| Randy Cole | Nestor Kolcio |
| Bill Croker | Keith Lindsey |
| Dan Crotta | Frank Myers |
| Carlton Daiss | Bill Olive |
| John Eckman | Scobie Price |
| Jim Gillies | Pat Quinn |
| Charlie Grose | James Reilly |
| Ed Harris | Joe Van Name |
In the early 1970’s the group realized that it would be very beneficial for workers to see the standards in action and started planning the first conference which they named ESMO. After consideration of many proposals, Hydro Quebec was chosen as the utility partner, and in 1976 the first ESMO Conference took place in Quebec. This Conference has always been of great interest to both management, safety engineers and workers in the electric utility industry due to its unique field demonstrations and focus on safe work practices. The Conference is designed to provide technical paper presentations and panel sessions for informative question and answer opportunities; an indoor exhibition hall for participants to talk with vendors and users about tools, equipment, services and new ideas; and, the outdoor field demonstrations to see various work practices and equipment in action by utilities, contractors, helicopter operators and vendors.
Below is a list of the conferences, the host utilities and the locations.
| Conference Year | Utility | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Hydro Quebec | Montreal, QC |
| 1980 | Commonwealth Edison | Chicago, IL |
| 1983 | Georgia Power | Atlanta, GA |
| 1987 | Public Service New Mexico | Albuquerque, NM |
| 1990 | Ontario Hydro | Toronto, ON |
| 1993 | Nevada Power | Las Vegas, NV |
| 1995 | American Electric Power | Columbus, OH |
| 1998 | Florida Power | Orlando, FL |
| 2000 | Hydro Quebec | Montreal, QC |
| 2003 | Progress Energy | Orlando, FL |
| 2006 | Public Service New Mexico | Albuquerque, NM |
| 2011 | National Grid | Providence, RI |
| 2016 | American Electric Power | Columbus, OH |
Current ESMOL Scope:
- Tend to all matters related to the engineering in maintenance of lines and associated devices
- Research, development, testing, acceptance of various techniques, practices and procedures as they relate to safety and maintenance of lines and associated devices
- Development of work methods to provide safe work areas while taking into consideration ground bonding, induction effects, equipment characteristics and testing techniques.
ESMOL holds two meetings each year, these include the summer and winter meetings. During these meetings the IEEE standards that the group is responsible for are reviewed to ensure that the technology is current. For those that are approaching their renewal date, a working group of interested experts is formed. Then a review process begins that finally culminates in a revised document that is submitted to IEEE for voting. In addition, papers are prepared for publication to provide additional information to the utility industry for applications of the standards, new technology and supplementary work practices. There is a great deal of sharing between members during the three to four day meetings. New members are always welcome to join these meetings.
IEEE ESMOL Working Groups/Standards (Chair):
IEEE 516 Live Line Guide (Kris Buchholz, Keith Wallace)
IEEE 935 Terminology
IEEE 957 Insulator Cleaning (Steve Zubiri)
IEEE 1048 Protective Grounding (Brian Erga)
IEEE 1067 Conductive Clothing (Lawrence Schweitzer)
IEEE 1070 Restoration Structures (Alan Holloman)
IEEE 1307 Fall Protection (Ed Hunt)
IEEE 1654 RF Worker Protection (Sam Stonerock)
IEEE 1882 – Guide for Establishing a Live Working Program (Tom Verdecchio)