Power Play : Competition: Linemen are full of confidence at third annual rodeo in Granada Hills. They show their stuff during a test of skills needed to repair electric lines.

With a motto like “And God said let there be light . . . then He created Linemen/Splicers to distribute it,” humility is not exactly their strong suit.

But then, if you could shinny to the top of a 45-foot utility pole carrying an egg, pop it in your mouth and scamper down in 17 seconds--without breaking the shell, or your neck--you might be entitled to claim divine plaudits.

There was plenty of swaggering Saturday at the Third Annual Linemen’s Rodeo in Granada Hills, a competition that pitted workers from seven Southern California utility companies and unions against each other in a test of skills needed to repair the high-power electric lines.

The power lines set up in a dusty field near Van Norman Reservoir were dead. But ordinarily, linemen risk long-distance falls and severe electrical burns in the course of their work, considered among the most dangerous in the nation.

So, they tend to be self-confident, especially after doing battle each day with at least 12,000 volts of electricity.

Take Cesar Munoz, 34, of San Diego, the pole-climber who must have been a monkey in a past life. Even before the scores were in, he knew he had beaten the other 41 contestants with his 17-second time. Besides his raw speed, Munoz’s uncracked egg was the ultimate proof of his ability to climb smoothly.

“I’ll win this event and the whole rodeo too,” said Munoz, who beat the other climbers by at least eight seconds but did not win the rodeo.

Speed was not the only criteria for winning the competition’s seven events, which included the pole climb, rope splice and rescue of a 165-pound dummy who hung “unconscious” off the end of a pole.

The contestants--all men in this male-dominated profession--also had to observe on-the-job safety rules, even though the lines were dead.

“With our job, somebody is going to get hurt from time to time, so we have to stress safety, safety, safety,” said Chief Judge Jerry Thigpen, a former lineman who was severely burned 12 years ago when a transformer blew up in his face after he mistakenly grounded a wire. “That’s why I look younger than 53--all the skin on my face is brand-new.”

The job is also stressful for the men’s wives and relatives, about 250 of whom attended the rodeo.

“He’s living on the edge all the time, and so am I,” said Munoz’s wife, who declined to give her name.

Maybe that’s why the spectators did not pay close attention to the events in the center of the field. They tended to stay on the fringes, picnicking, taking children for rides on the bucket loaders and trampolines, and buying T-shirts with the linemen’s motto and the words “Too Hot to Handle.”

A team of three employees from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power won the contest and received a trophy for their efforts. They will compete in the national rodeo this September in Kansas.

But just because the contest is based there, don’t confuse these guys with the Wichita lineman immortalized in Glen Campbell’s song. That tune was about telephone linemen, a far less boastful breed.

“This is a passion,” said Denny Poplawski, a DWP supervisor who instructs apprentices during the three-year training period they undergo.