News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation members in Jackson and Smith Counties without power this evening should prepare for a cold night.
CEO Jennifer Brogdon said due to the vast range of outages from snow, crews may not be able to restore all power by tonight.
“The challenge has been the widespread nature of the snow, and so, we’ve had pockets of 20 or 30 people out here or there,” Brogdon said. “Just due to the widespread nature, it’s been hard to get to everybody.”
Brogdon said while the number is ever changing, a few hundred homes remain without power in Jackson and Smith Counties. The Smith County AG Center has been opened as a warming center for people whose electricity has not been restored. Cots and blankets will be set up for people to sleep.
“We were surprised I guess by the widespread nature of the outages particularly in Smith County and Jackson County,” Brogdon said. “We got a lot of snow about six inches in some of those areas.”
Brogdon said crews have been working since early Monday morning. Brogdon said the plan is to have all power restored by the end of Tuesday, but as the snow melts, more outages may occur.
“As the snow has melted and fallen off the power lines, then they snap back up and make contact with other hot power lines and tripped,” Brogdon said. “So, it’s been a combination of things really.”
Brogdon said Putnam and Overton County customers should have most power already restored.
