Look up at the next lineworker you see working from a bucket truck, often in brutal heat, bitter cold, or after a storm. That’s what it looks like to keep West Virginia running. It’s a challenge, too, since West Virginia ranks near rock bottom for power outages.

Labor Day is a time to recognize all the people who build, operate, and maintain the infrastructure the rest of us depend on … electricians, equipment operators, ironworkers,  welders, millwrights …  thousands of other skilled men and women. We owe them our thanks.

We also owe them infrastructure worthy of their labor. Honor their work and strengthen West Virginia at the same time: Build stronger, safer power transmission lines.

West Virginia needs a strong, modern grid. Too often, severe weather means downed lines, dark businesses, and disrupted communities.

Small West Virginia businesses pay a steep price when the power drops, an estimated $8,000 to $25,000 per hour of downtime. That’s lost money for paychecks. Nearly half of West Virginians working for a business are in a small business, which has accounted for 61% of the state’s net job growth. These are our restaurants, contractors, shops and local employers. When the power goes out, their business can stop.

For manufacturers, losses can be greater, $20,000 to $100,000 for every hour of downtime. For the more than 45,000 West Virginians who work in manufacturing, reliable electricity is essential.

Yet, we ask yesterday’s grid to power today’s West Virginia. The state ranks sixth in the nation in residential electricity use per person. Our homes and workplaces increasingly depend on electrical equipment that was rare or nonexistent a generation ago – Wi-Fi routers, multiple big screens, phone chargers, laptops, heat pumps and countless connected devices.

Our dependence on electricity has changed. Our grid should change, too.

Major proposed transmission projects would increase transmission capacity, reduce congestion, and strengthen the regional grid. They could bring in cheaper electricity. All great, and there’s this: Building the lines would also put a lot of people to work.

An independent analysis estimates that proposed projects, among them the MidAtlantic Resiliency Link (MARL), would generate $2.5 billion in construction spending in West Virginia and more than 10,000 job-years of employment, equivalent to roughly 3,400 people working full-time over several years.

These are exactly the kinds of jobs we should celebrate on Labor Day. The projects can generate $903 million in wages and salaries, with spending spreading to contractors, suppliers and local businesses.

Good news, too, is the bigger payoff after we have new lines. Manufacturers and service businesses – our major employers – need reliable electricity. Communities with reliable energy are better positioned to attract investment. That’s what 3/4ths of industry site selectors say. Dependable energy is business’s number one need, and jobs are a West Virginia need.

Altogether, the projects are projected to add $2.3 billion to West Virginia’s economy and $241 million in new state, county and local tax revenue.

So, this Labor Day, thank a lineworker and all the others who keep the power on. Thank the people who keep West Virginia working.

Then let’s give them something worth building. Build the lines. Strengthen the grid. Put West Virginians to work.