EPB has signed a contract with a Chattanooga firm that officials said will assure lineman service for unexpected storms and outages.
The contract to Service Electric was approved by the EPB board.
EPB's Kay Abbott and David Lee said there is a nationwide shortage of electrical linemen that led to a 20.6 percent rise in the contract cost.
The new contract will be worth about $1.2 million if fully utilized over the year.
There were three firms submitting proposals.
Officials said places like San Francisco are paying as much as $110 an hour for linemen.
Many others go to Chicago or New York, where there is a strong demand and pay is $85 or $90 per hour.
Officials said many applicants drop out of the lengthy training program when they have to climb a 45-foot or 50-foot pole, then catch a basketball. David Wade, EPB president, noted, "You have to use two hands to catch a basketball so you have to trust your equipment."
Service Electric has some 1,200 employees and serves a wide area.