Profiles

Customer focus at heart of Limbach’s role at OPPD

The main focus of Cheryl Limbach’s job as manager of OPPD Distribution Services goes to the core of what the utility provides to its customers – electricity.

In her position, Limbach leads a group of employees that includes troubleshooters, streetlight workers, underground house service crews, meter technicians, equipment operators and administrative staff. And they are all stationed across OPPD’s metro service centers.

customer focus

Limbach said the diversity of work covered by her department might surprise people. But it is always customer-driven, she said. The work gives employees an opportunity to serve customers every day, from responding to an outage or other electrical problem to making sure they have accurate metering or providing service to a new home.

Limbach joined OPPD in 1995, first working part-time at the North Bend office. She said it didn’t take long to realize OPPD was a great fit for her skill set. She became interested in expanding her role to a full-time career if the opportunity arose.

Over the years, she has worked on several rewarding projects. But the development and implementation of OPPD’s “wires down crews” in particular stands out. These crews repair house services, identify down wires and maintain public safety during outage restoration efforts.

“The team has been very successful in reducing the time of these restoration events, allowing our line technicians to focus on restoring circuits and repairing equipment damage,” Limbach said. “Being involved in this integral part of OPPD and helping develop an efficient and safe procedure was a very gratifying and engaging experience.

rewarding work

This satisfaction, and the fast pace and engaging nature of her job, are all things Limbach enjoys about her job. In particular during storm restoration events.

“These can be some of the most rewarding experiences for myself the department as a whole.”

No matter what project she’s working on, Limbach said the opportunity to work with people every day to tackle the issues at hand was at the heart of what led her to her career.

Outside of work, Limbach loves spending time with her family and friends whenever she can. She also routinely volunteers at her church and for organizations such as the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Make a Wish. Limbach is also an avid crafter, often taking on multiple creative projects at a time.