Celebrating Local Schools in the TVA EnergyRight School Uplift Program

At UCEMC, we believe education is one of the most powerful tools for shaping a brighter future, especially when it comes to teaching the next generation how to be energy smart. That’s why we’re proud to celebrate five outstanding local schools that recently completed the TVA EnergyRight School Uplift Program. This year-long initiative focuses on energy awareness and efficiency, making a lasting impact on students and their schools.

Five schools from our area participated in this year’s program: AH Roberts Elementary, Cornerstone Elementary, Livingston Academy, New Middleton Elementary, and Carthage Elementary School.

We are excited to share that Carthage Elementary School earned a $25,000 grant thanks to their outstanding participation, creativity, and results. The four other schools received a $10,000 grant for their energy-saving efforts.

Led by Carthage Elementary School’s energy coach Sheila Gregory, the CES staff brought energy education to life. Students participated in hands-on energy lessons, created art projects, hosted family nights focused on electricity, and even welcomed a memorable guest. Spark the Energy Monster made appearances throughout the school and was a hit at the Christmas program during a performance of “Feliz Navidad.” CES also created a team of fourth-grade Energy Ambassadors. They created educational songs, helped teach younger classmates, and encouraged their peers to be more energy aware. Even more impactful, students shared what they learned at home with parents, grandparents, and siblings.

As a result, CES improved its overall energy efficiency by 6%! Students voted on how to use their $25,000 grant, and the winning choice was an upgraded playground for everyone to enjoy.

We are proud of all five participating schools—and especially proud of Carthage Elementary School for proving just how fun, engaging, and meaningful energy education can be.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, in partnership with Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree organization, is awarding a record $1.5 million in grants to educators to develop science, technology, engineering, and math education projects across the Tennessee Valley region.

The competitive STEM classroom grant program received 647 grant applications this year, and 342 were selected for funding.

Grants up to $5,000 were awarded in a competitive process, and preference was given to grant applications that explored TVA’s primary areas of focus: environment, energy, economic development, and community problem-solving. Any school that receives their power from a local power company served by TVA was eligible to apply.

The following schools in our service area were awarded STEM Grants:

$5,000 Award’s

• Baxter Primary- Busy Bee Buddies
• Cornerstone Elementary- TechFit: Energizing Minds and Bodies through Smart Wellness
• Vital School- “RoboReady: Code Your Future”
• White Plains Academy- Little Eagles STEM program

A full list of the grant recipients can be found at www.tvastem.com.

[Carthage, TN- January 9, 2025] – A major winter storm is forecasted, bringing 3-6 inches of snow or more. Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (UCEMC) works hard to maintain a resilient power distribution system, but it is difficult to prevent outages during an event like a major winter storm. Our linemen and crews are on standby, prepared to respond to any power outages that may occur. Crews have stocked their trucks with essential equipment, fueled all vehicles, and ensured warehouse supplies are ready to meet the challenges of the storm. We are incredibly grateful for their hard work and dedication to keeping our communities energized and safe.

“Our top priority is safety—for our crews and our members,” said Jennifer Brogdon, General Manager. “We encourage everyone to stay indoors, use caution, and report outages through our designated channels, not on social media.”

Winter storms create the potential for power outages due to falling tree limbs. Even with year-round tree trimming efforts, heavy wet snow can accumulate on limbs, adding significant weight and causing them to snap. When limbs or entire trees fall onto power lines, they can break the lines or poles, leading to service interruptions.

Outage Reporting and Safety

• Call our phone system at 1-800-261-2940 and press 1
• Text “OUT” to 1-800-261-2940
• Mobile App: Login, select your account, choose “Menu”, “Services”, “Report an Outage.”
• Website: Click the “Report Online” button at the top of the page at UCEMC.com.
• Please do not report outages on Facebook as it is not monitored for outage reports.

The safety of our communities will always come first. As a reminder, always stay away from downed power lines or damaged electric equipment and report these situations immediately to UCEMC at 1-800-261-2940.

UCEMC would like their valued members to be aware of an upcoming TVA planned outage in the Gainesboro and Algood areas.

Gainesboro: **** PLEASE NOTE TIME SHIFTED BY ONE HOUR****

TVA has announced that there will be a planned outage for Gainesboro on Sunday, October 27, 2024. It will last around 6 hours, starting at midnight and ending at 6:00 am. This outage is needed for TVA to replace poles and complete necessary maintenance.

The following areas and communities will be affected by the outage:

Big Bottom, Indian Creek, York Hwy, Celina Hwy, Jennings Creek, New Salem, Gladdice Hwy, McCoinsville Road, Hayden Burg, SR 85, Free State Town of Gainesboro, Parts of Granville Hwy, and Part of Seven Knobs

An alternate date of November 2, 2024, at 11 pm until November 3, 2024, at 5:00 am will be used in case of inclement weather on October 26 and 27.

Algood:

TVA has announced that there will be a planned outage for Algood on November 2, 2024. It will last around 6 hours, starting on November 2nd at 11 pm and ending on November 3rd at 5:00 am. This outage is needed for TVA to complete necessary maintenance on their transmission line.

The following areas and communities will be affected by the outage:

Brotherton Mt, The Overlook, Falling Water Rd , Canada Flatt, Macedonia, Paragon, White Plains, Shenandoah, Stone Hinge , Pennical View, Plantation View, Rockey Point, Part of Shady Lane, Victory View, Rolling Hills, Twin Creeks, Hyder Mountain, Lake Point , Poplar Grove, Mt. Pleasant , and Mountain Top Ln.

The following areas and communities may be affected by the outage:

Hwy. 70 East, Browns Mill, Cherry Creek, Phifer Mountain, Board Valley, White Oak Flatts, East Lake, Sheep Bluff, Mill Creek, Stone Seminary, Hickory Flatts, Indian Hills, Hidden Cove, and Mt. Herman

An alternate date of November 9, 2024, at 11 pm until November 10, 2024, at 5:00 am will be used in case of inclement weather on November 2 or 3.

[Cookeville, TN, September 29, 2024] Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation was fortunate to have only scattered outages in our area in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene. Unfortunately, other areas were left with widespread damage and power outages. UCEMC has stepped up to provide critical mutual aid to Rutherford Electric Membership Corporative in North Carolina who currently have over 52,000 members without power. This morning we sent 15 of our dedicated team members to assist in restoring power to those affected in North Carolina. REMC has reported that 26 of their 46 substations are damaged and there are more than 200 broken poles to fix. UCEMC has received mutual aid in the past and now we’re honored to lend a hand in REMC’s time of need. We wish safety to our Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporative team, other co-ops assisting in power restoration, and all those affected by Tropical Storm Helene.

Mutual aid is a long-standing agreement between electric cooperatives where crews are dispatched to assist other co-ops during major outages or disasters. Cookeville’s District Manager, Jason Moss explains, “We agree to provide mutual aid to our neighboring co-ops and vice versa. All 22 co-ops in Tennessee and all the co-ops in the neighboring 7 states, which is the Tennessee Valley are part of that cooperative mutual aid.” By sharing resources and expertise, together we are able to restore power faster and keep communities safe. Helping each other is what being a cooperative is all about.

Our crews are equipped with everything they need to tackle this challenge head on including rain gear, bucket trucks, diggers, tools, and supplies. They are prepared to work long hours in tough conditions to bring power back to the communities in North Carolina. While the job can be physically demanding, the team is highly trained and experienced in handling storm recovery efforts. “You don’t go down there unprepared. You usually prepare to stay 2 weeks when you go” said Jason, “There’s nothing worse than getting in a storm situation without everything you need because nobody down there has power. So you don’t run to the local Walmart and get what you need. You better bring it with you if you want it.”

“You gotta keep safety at first and foremost to make sure the guys come back home,” said foreman Brandon Rigsby. The safety of our team is always a top priority and Rutherford Electric Membership Cooperative is doing everything it can to ensure our team is working in a safe environment. One of the ways the local corporative helps keep our crews safe is by assigning a birddog. “A birddog is an agent of the local cooperative that we’re working for that knows the area and knows the system. Because we’re going into unfamiliar area. We can’t just go out there and find a line down and start working on that because the potential for somebody to energize something on you is great,” explains Jason. The birddog will help protect our crews while they’re in the field.

UCEMC has received mutual aid before and now it is our turn to give back. That is what mutual aid is all about- neighbors helping neighbors when the going gets tough. Another co-op from Tennessee, Tri-Cities Electric Membership Corporative, is also going to help Rutherford EMC. This is not the first time that we have worked with Tri-Cities EMC. They came to our aid when we faced an ice storm in 2021.

While part of our team is away assisting others, we want to assure our members that we remain fully staffed here at home. Our commitment to your safety and service never waivers.

“Electricity is a necessity, you can’t go without it so we are going to help other people” said Brandon. “Every lineman has been in REMC’s situation. Our cooperative has been in that situation and it’s very overwhelming. Each and every one of these linemen knows what that feels like to have their whole community devastated through the tornadoes, the ice storms, and the major weather events that we’ve experienced here. So they are very glad to go help these people because we know exactly what they’re going through right now” said Jason, “We’re going to need mutual aid from people again. It’s the same all across the Tennessee Valley, everybody is going to need mutual aid at some time. We all make sure that we give all we can to everybody else, and then that always comes back to us in return.”

UCEMC wants to encourage anyone who wants to help to donate to local disaster relief efforts, the Red Cross, or other organizations in the affected area for other ways to support their recovery. At the end of the day, safety is and always will be the most important thing, both for our crews and for the communities we serve. We’re proud to help others and we know that should we ever need it again we can count on them to do the same.

It’s more than just powerlines. It’s about people.

While scouting the cause of outages today, Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation’s team saw a power line that was hanging dangerously low across the interstate. This posed a serious safety hazard to the drivers on Interstate 40 in Cookeville. Our team contacted the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Department of Transportation, and PLC Traffic Control to assist with this situation. Thanks to their quick response to the scene, the interstate was shut down for a short time to ensure no vehicles would unknowingly drive into harm’s way. While this was inconvenient for drivers, our focus was clear, safety first.

We work hard to maintain a resilient power distribution system, but it is difficult to prevent outages during an event like a tropical storm. This was an unexpected and tricky situation because the electrical pole was broken about 30 feet above the ground and was dangling causing the power line to hang low. The line was across the interstate in a curve at the bottom of a very steep hill making matters more difficult. Closing the interstate was imperative to the safety of our community.

Our crews worked in the rain and the wind to remove the line, set a new pole, and restore power to the area. We worked with the local phone company and Charter Communications to make sure everything was safe and restored.

We are proud to work alongside the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Department of Transportation, and PLC Traffic Control, and would like to extend our gratitude for their partnership. We are also proud of our lineman who braved the storm to keep our community safe.

While outages and road closures can be frustrating, we appreciate the patience of those affected. The safety of our communities will always come first. As a reminder, always stay away from downed power lines or damaged electric equipment and report these situations immediately to UCEMC at 1-800-261-2940.

Safety first, always.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has announced a 5.25% increase to the rates it charges UCEMC for power, effective October 1, 2024. The TVA region is growing three times faster than the national average. To address the need for more electricity, TVA is investing nearly $16 billion through FY 2027 to build new generation, enhance the reliability of existing assets and for initial infrastructure The agency is building ~3,500 megawatts of new generation, TVA has made great progress by completing 1,400 megawatts and securing 800 megawatts of solar this year.

To fund ongoing construction and energy development, the TVA board approved a 5.25% base rate increase that will take effect Oct. 1, 2024. With an average residential bill at about $138, this increase will translate to about an additional $4.35 each month, compared to October 2023.

Please note, UCEMC does not retain any portion of the TVA increase. As your local, member owned Cooperative, UCEMC remains dedicated to deliver safe and reliable power at the best value to enhance life in our community.