2026 Rural Electric Apprenticeship Program (REAP) Graduates

Thirty lineworkers, including Hendricks Power's Wyatt Kingery and Thomps Shrout, graduated from Indiana Electric Cooperatives' apprenticeship program, Rural Electric Apprenticeship Program (REAP). REAP is a four-year program that professionally trains apprentice lineworkers from across Indiana. Graduates complete 576 hours of classroom-related study and 8,000 hours of on-the-job training at their electric cooperative. Students also complete four additional classes through Ivy Tech Community College.

With the arrival of harvest time, Indiana’s farmers are shifting into high gear as they move into their fields to bring in their crops. The increased activity puts farmers and farm workers at greater risk, warns John Gasstrom, CEO of Indiana Electric Cooperatives.

"Combines and grain augers are large pieces of equipment,” says Gasstrom. “People assume everything will fit under the power lines, but that isn’t always the case. The biggest cause of electrocutions on farms is equipment accidentally touching power lines.”