While ComEd’s human summer interns are heading back to college, our four-legged interns – which are the G.O.A.T. and also literally goats – will get to work, but not before they get one more summer hoorah under their hooves.
This September, more than 200 hungry and ambitious goat interns will return to ComEd for a fourth summer to manage vegetation under our power lines. This year they’ll be working in Matthiessen State Park in Oglesby, Ill.
During their two-week ‘goat-ternship,’ these four-legged employees will eat their way through vegetation under power lines to prevent power outages by clearing brush under difficult to access areas.
So, why goats? Due to steep ravines in the area, it is challenging for ComEd’s vegetation management crews to clear brush safely. Goats provide an eco-friendly solution to clearing overgrown vegetation, cutting down on emissions and labor time, and reducing safety risks to working in these areas.
Before they get to work this year, they’ll celebrate the end of the summer vacation by spending a day floating along the Chicago River. They are giving ‘whatever floats your boat’ a new meaning, because each goat will be floating on its own boat!
On Wednesday, Aug. 31, you can catch the goats cruising in the ComEd Small Boat Goat Parade on the Chicago River near Dearborn/LaSalle from noon to 3 PM. All community members are invited to join and celebrate the ComEd goats and all they do to help bring us safe and reliable power.
