TVA seeing record breaking power-use for single-digit temperatures

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – TVA and EPB have been working around the clock to make sure no one goes without power during these frigid temperatures. While people have been using record breaking amounts of power, it hasn’t slowed up the power grids one bit.

“We’ve seen bitter, cold, single digit temperatures across the Tennessee Valley and that has driven up energy demand. We were able to meet today a record peak in TVA’s 91-year history of over 34,500 megawatts. Which is an amazing accomplishment,” said TVA Spokesperson Scott Fiedler.

While it is quite impressive that these power grids haven’t blacked out during these desperate times for heat, you’d think it might raise some concerns about what might happen if we do reach a certain number. But officials are confident that they have enough power and manpower to get us through the hard times.

“We haven’t seen any issues at our operating plants and our system is operating normally. We’ve got all hands-on deck with staff being on site 24/7 to ensure that we can keep the power flowing to homes and businesses,” said Fiedler.

As confident as officials are about the power remaining steady, people still need to take precautions to save as much power to not only prevent these sudden black outs, but to also save money on your next bill. Such as:

• In cold weather, start your thermostat at 68 degrees and decrease by 1º daily to find your lowest comfortable setting. 
• Only use major appliances like clothes washers, dryers, dishwashers during the warmest hours of the day, typically in the afternoon.
• Open window coverings on the sunny side of your home. Keep them closed in shady areas.
• Turn off everything when you leave a room. 
• Reverse ceiling fans to rotate clockwise.

For more information on outages in your area, you can visit the EPB website under outages.