Please see below information regarding the current cold snap in the region:
Topic: Christmas Holiday 2022 Cold Snap Update
12/24 8:00 Am
A TVA Public Service Announcement- If everyone would cut their thermostat back one degree it would help tremendously. Cut off any lights you aren’t using or any electronics. Temps will be edging up in the next couple days and we will be through this.
TVA, Local Power Companies Manage Record-Setting Power Demand
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Record-setting temperatures across the region continue to put intense pressure on the power system. The Tennessee Valley Authority and local power companies working around the clock in difficult conditions to meet this extreme demand.
On Saturday morning, December 24, TVA directed local power companies to implement planned, short duration, intermittent power interruptions to maintain system reliably. This action is similar to steps that TVA and local power companies took on Friday, December 23, to help ensure power system reliability. This measure is expected to be temporary until the highest peak power demands have been met.
During the 24-hours of December 23, TVA supplied more energy than at any other time in its history – 740 gigawatt-hours, or 740 million kilowatt-hours. The cold also produced a winter record for peak power demand of 33,425 megawatts at 7 p.m. CT when the regionwide average temperature was 9 degrees.
The strong partnership between TVA, local power companies and industrial customers, as well as the individual contributions of residents to conserve energy, continues to make a difference. The public is asked to maintain their conservation efforts over the next 36 hours using a few simple steps:
• Lower thermostats by just one or two degrees – public safety is of utmost importance during dangerously cold weather, so don’t make big adjustments but every degree can help save on future power bills,
• Delay doing laundry or running a dishwasher until the warmest part of the day, and turn off unnecessary lights and electronics, and
• When the sun is out, open window coverings on the sunny side of homes and offices, but close window coverings at night and when the sun isn’t brightly shining.
“We appreciate the work of so many local power companies, businesses and residents to assist TVA in managing the impacts of this extraordinary weather event,” said Don Moul, TVA’s chief operating officer. “We remain committed to working together to manage the demands of this extraordinary weather and still make the holidays safe and warm.”
Date: 12/23/22, 1220 ET
Extremely cold temperatures across the region are creating unprecedented demands on the power system.
In the spirit of the holiday season, we are asking for everyone’s help in ensuring the power grid remains stable for us all.
We are asking businesses and the public to help by immediately reducing electric power use as much as possible without sacrificing safety.
TVA and local power companies are also proactively taking steps to temporarily reduce power supplies to certain local areas, which may create intermittent, brief power outages to homes and businesses on a rolling basis.
The specifics of any potential interruptions are managed by each local power company.
The entire TVA team is actively working with local power companies and other regional utilities to minimize the duration of this event.
We apologize for the inconvenience we know these conditions will cause, especially during a holiday period, but it is a necessary step to prevent far greater power interruptions affecting the entire area.
We’ll continue to monitor this evolving situation and will communicate any additional information on TVA social media channels and through your local power company.