TVA ended their requirement of power suppliers across the region to put rolling blackouts in place just before 1:00 PM. TVA had told power companies around 10:00 AM that they had lost the use of a power generating asset and would have to reduce the load on the system in order to stave off larger outages. TVA serves power to a seven state region across the south.
TVA instituted what they call a Step 50 Curtailment, which required all local providers to reduce the demand by at least 5-10% of their load. Greeneville Light & Power Manager Chuck Bowlin said that TVA ended the call for blackouts around 12:45 PM and that all power should be restored without any further interruption.
Bowlin said that TVA reported having lost the ability to produce enough power to meet the incredibly high demand across the area due to some equipment failures. TVA said that many repairs had been made, and much of that lost generating capacity has been restored. Bowlin said TVA will keep a particular watch for the peak demand times around 7:00 PM this evening and 10:00 AM tomorrow. At this time, no further rolling blackouts are expected, but customers everywhere are encouraged to help conserve energy as much as possible.
Bowlin said that GL&P tried to ensure that the blackouts today were as brief as possible and that nobody was affected more than once.
Here is where the rolling blackouts affected Greene Countians. The times are approximate.
1:35 PM – 1:55 PM – 107 Cutoff, Jones Bridge Road to Asheville Highway, Erwin Highway toward Tusculum, West Church Street, West Summer Street, Highland, Rheatown Road, Kingsport Highway, East AJ Highway, Stone Dam Road to Rheatown. This blackout did not have to be used.
1:15 PM – 1:35 PM Lost Mountain Pike, Doty’s Chapel, Upper end of the Horton Highway, Main Street Mosheim, Midway Road, Weems Chapel, Carpenter’s Chapel, West Andrew Johnson Highway.
12:55-1:15 PM on Blue Springs Parkway, Lonesome Pine Trail, Old Knoxville Highway, Snapps Ferry Road, West Pines, and Jeroldstown.
12:35 PM – 12:55 PM in Mt. Carmel, Brown Springs, Rheatown Rd, Jockey Rd, Baileyton and old Baileyton Rd, Van Hill Rd., Laurel Gap Road, and Horton Highway.
12:15 PM – 12:35 PM – areas in the 107 Cutoff, Jones Bridge, White Sands, Old Asheville Highway, Blue Springs, Midway, West AJ Highway, Rader’s Sidetrack, Mt. Pleasant, West Main, Forest Street, South Main, Irish Street and McKee Street.
11:55 AM – 12:15 PM – areas in Camp Creek, Mohawk and Mosheim
11:35 AM – 11:55 AM – Erwin Highway, Industrial Road near Snapps Ferry Road, other areas of Nolichuckey
11:15 AM – 11:35 AM – Areas served by the Nolichuckey substation, Snapps Ferry, Baileyton, and Erwin Highway
10:55 AM – 11:15 AM – Tusculum, Chuckey, Albany, and the Crossroads
