It is hard to imagine life without electricity.

Flip a switch and the lights come on. Plug something in and it works. Heat, air conditioning, refrigeration, medical equipment, internet access. Nearly every part of daily life depends on reliable power.

But not long ago, that was not the case in rural Tennessee.

This Presidents’ Day, we honor all who have served as President of the United States. Here in Tennessee, that history feels especially close to home. Three presidents came from our state. Others shaped the Tennessee Valley in ways that still impact our daily lives. And together, their leadership helped create the systems that brought electricity and opportunity to rural communities like ours.

Because less than 100 years ago, most rural families in Tennessee did not have electricity.

Long before power lines stretched across our hills and farmland, Tennessee was already shaping the direction of the country.

Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, made his home in Tennessee and led the nation beginning in 1829. His presidency reflected a belief that the voices of everyday citizens mattered.

James K. Polk, raised in Tennessee, became the eleventh President in 1845. His administration expanded the nation’s borders significantly, adding vast stretches of rural land that would one day need infrastructure and services.

Andrew Johnson served as Tennessee’s military governor before becoming the seventeenth President during Reconstruction, a time focused on rebuilding and strengthening the nation’s foundation.

None of these leaders dealt with electricity directly. But they helped shape a growing country that would later face a defining question: How do we ensure rural America is not left behind?

By the early 1930s, that question became urgent.

When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, nearly 90 percent of rural homes in America did not have electricity. In Tennessee and throughout the South, farm families relied on kerosene lamps for light. Water was pumped by hand. Food preservation was limited. Modern conveniences available in cities were out of reach for rural communities.

Private utilities declined to extend service into rural areas because it was expensive and not profitable enough.

For rural Tennessee, electricity was uncertain.

In 1933, Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act into law, creating the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

TVA was designed to address challenges facing the Tennessee Valley region. It improved flood control, strengthened navigation, stimulated economic development, and generated affordable electricity.

For Tennessee, this was transformative.

TVA did not just generate power. It generated possibility.

But generation was only part of the solution. Rural communities still needed a way to deliver that power to homes and farms.

In 1936, Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act, providing low-interest loans so rural communities could form electric cooperatives and build distribution systems.

Local farmers and community leaders organized, borrowed funds, and began building systems from the ground up. It was not easy work. Poles were set by hand. Lines stretched across fields and hills. But slowly, the lights began to turn on.

Electric cooperatives were not created to make a profit. They were created so communities could serve themselves.

And that is where UCEMC’s story begins.

In 1938, UCEMC’s first board of directors consisted of five individuals who believed their rural communities deserved electricity.

Each of those five men contributed five dollars of their own money. They gave that money to the cooperative’s first attorney so he could purchase a train ticket to Washington, D.C., and retrieve the paperwork needed to officially form an electric cooperative.

With the cooperative officially formed, UCEMC gained the ability to purchase assets from the Tennessee Power Company, which at the time was providing electricity only within the city limits of Carthage and Cookeville.

Over the course of the next year, UCEMC bought out Tennessee Power Company and began building infrastructure to provide electricity to members outside the city limits. It reached farms and rural homes that had never had electricity before.

Membership in the cooperative cost five dollars. And that $5 membership fee is still in place today.

From the very beginning, UCEMC was built on the idea that local people could come together, contribute, and build something that served their community.

President Harry Truman supported expanding rural electrification efforts after World War II. By the late 1950s, a majority of rural homes had electricity.

The impact was immediate and life changing.

Within a generation, homes that once relied on oil lamps had electric lights. Wells were powered. Refrigerators replaced ice boxes. Schools and hospitals operated more effectively. Businesses expanded. Farms modernized.

The Tennessee Valley moved from darkness into opportunity.

And that opportunity continues today. But they did not stop at infrastructure.

In 1957, then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson helped launch what would become the Washington Youth Tour. He believed young people should experience their government firsthand and encouraged electric cooperatives to sponsor students to travel to Washington, D.C.

That program continues today. Students from our service area still travel to Washington D.C. each year. They meet their representatives, visit museums, monuments, and historic sites, gaining leadership experience and perspective.

The same cooperative network that brought electricity to rural America continues investing in its future leaders.

The decisions made nearly a century ago still shape our daily lives.

Because of TVA, our region benefits from reliable generation.

Because of the Rural Electrification Act, electric cooperatives like UCEMC remain locally governed and member-owned.

Because five local leaders in the Upper Cumberland were willing to invest five dollars each and send a lawyer to Washington in 1938, rural families in our community gained access to electricity.

Today, UCEMC continues building on that legacy through modern infrastructure upgrades, right-of-way maintenance, storm response improvements, energy efficiency partnerships, and community programs.

The mission remains the same. Serve members. Strengthen communities. Leave no one behind.

This Presidents’ Day, we are thankful for the leadership, national and local, that helped bring electricity to rural Tennessee.

The next time you flip a switch, remember that light did not just appear. It was built through vision, cooperation, and leadership.

Winter Storm Fern brought snow, freezing rain, and significant ice across Tennessee and the Upper Cumberland, creating dangerous conditions and widespread damage to electric infrastructure. Ice storms are among the most destructive weather events for electric systems. The weight of ice strains power lines and trees, making repairs complex and restoration time consuming.

Across Tennessee, more than 85,000 electric cooperative members lost power at the height of the storm. While significant progress has been made, families in some areas are still working through the impacts of this historic winter event.

At the peak of Winter Storm Fern, Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation had 1,082 members without power. The most heavily impacted areas were in the western and northern portions of our service area, including Smith County, Jackson County, and Overton County.

While a few outages occurred Saturday evening, outages began increasing rapidly around 4:00 AM. on Sunday, January 25, leaving approximately 900 UCEMC members without power.

By Sunday evening, after 16 continuous hours of work, crews had reduced outages to 12 outages affecting 52 members. As crews were preparing to head home for a short rest period, a major outage occurred, impacting 1,082 members. Teams immediately shifted focus, working that outage down to 265 members before taking a brief rest.

Crews returned early the next day to continue restoration efforts. Power was fully restored to all UCEMC members by 7:30 p.m. on Monday, January 26.

Photos provided by UCEMC linemen.

This restoration was not the work of one department or one group. It was a full team response.

All UCEMC linemen responded, and crews traveled between districts to assist after completing work in their own areas. Staking technicians, right of way crews, and operations employees supported damage assessment and handled critical tasks outside their usual roles. Dispatchers, member services, key accounts, communications, and leadership worked behind the scenes to support field crews, keep information flowing, and help members as quickly as possible.

We are also grateful for the support of our partners, including Trees LLC, which assisted with right of way clearing in difficult areas, and Besco, whose line crews helped with restoration work.

Winter Storm Fern impacted far more than our local area, and electric cooperatives across Tennessee and neighboring states stepped up to help one another. This storm triggered the largest mutual aid response Tennessee’s electric cooperatives have seen in more than two decades, with thousands of lineworkers from Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Kentucky working side by side.

UCEMC was proud to be part of that mutual aid effort. After restoring power at home, we sent 16 linemen to assist Tri-County Electric Membership Corporation, one of the hardest hit systems in the state.

Our linemen who traveled to Tri-County Electric for mutual aid worked long hours in bitter cold and dangerous conditions to help restore power for Tri-County Electric members. They represented UCEMC with professionalism, skill, and a true servant’s heart, and we are proud of their willingness to step up when another community needed help. We want to recognize and thank the UCEMC linemen who answered the call and served on Tri-County’s system: Spencer Anderson, Corey Gregory, Levi Haliburton, Tanner Cook, Dexter Wright, Jordan Meadows, Collin Norrod, Jared Rudd, Joe Ramsey, Josh Nolen, Mark Sherfield, Peyton Boles, Darren Birdwell, AJ Savoia, Shawn Way, and Jimmy Dell Watson.

Photos provided by UCEMC linemen.

Our cooperation went beyond power restoration. UCEMC and Tri-County Electric are connected through a shared fiber ring, which allows data and communications to reroute if one section is damaged. When Tri-County experienced a fiber break during the storm, that shared connection helped keep critical communications and broadband services online while repairs were made. This is a powerful example of how cooperation among cooperatives benefits our members and communities, especially during emergencies.

We are proud of our employees, contractors, and fellow cooperative lineworkers who worked long hours in dangerous conditions, many away from their own families, to restore power for others. We are equally grateful to our members for their patience, understanding, and kindness throughout restoration.

Even after power is restored, hazards can remain. Always assume a downed power line is energized, stay far away from damaged areas, and report hazards immediately.

Recovery from Winter Storm Fern is still ongoing across Tennessee. UCEMC stands with our neighbors, our fellow cooperatives, and every family affected by this storm.

Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation is proud to congratulate three schools in our service area that were selected for TVA STEM Classroom Awards.

White Plains School, VITAL School, and Algood Middle School were awarded funding to support classroom projects in science, technology, engineering, and math. These projects help students strengthen problem solving skills, spark curiosity, and explore future career pathways through hands on learning.

About the TVA STEM Classroom Awards
The TVA STEM Classroom Awards program supports educators across the Tennessee Valley region with competitive grants for STEM focused classroom projects. Awards are made through a partnership between the Tennessee Valley Authority and Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree organization. Grants of up to $5,000 are awarded, with priority given to projects that align with TVA focus areas including environment, energy, economic development, and community problem solving.

Celebrating our schools
We are grateful for the teachers and staff who go the extra mile to create engaging learning opportunities for students. Congratulations again to White Plains School, VITAL School, and Algood Middle School for earning this award, and thank you for the great work you are doing for students in the Upper Cumberland. It was a joy to present your school with this award.

Learn more
To learn more about the TVA STEM Classroom Awards program and see additional recipients across the region, visit TVA’s STEM Classroom Awards information page.

Due to ongoing winter weather and road conditions, all UCEMC offices will open at 10:00 AM tomorrow. This delay is for the safety of our employees and the members we serve.

Our crews will still be working early in the morning on restoration efforts.

Thank you for your understanding, and please travel safely.

**UPDATE 7:30 PM: We are pleased to report that power has been restored to all members!

**UPDATE 4:30 PM: We are down to 3 outages affecting 14 members. Crews are either already working these outages or on the way to them now. We still expect power restoration to be completed by the end of the day today.
As many of you know, several of the cooperatives around us are still dealing with power outages. Once we finish restoring power here at home, we are working to put a team together to provide mutual aid to those who need it. Our linemen take a lot of pride in serving others, and they are ready to help wherever they are needed.
We will share another update once restoration is complete. Thank you for your patience.

**MONDAY, JANUARY 26 UPDATE 10:00 AM: We currently have 15 outages affecting 320 members.
Our crews have made strong progress since last night, including reducing the Smith County outage that impacted about 1,000 members down to 265. We are continuing to work the remaining outages as safely and quickly as conditions allow, and our estimated time of completion is by the end of the day today, as long as we are able to safely access the remaining outage locations. Many of the outages still on our system are in extremely difficult areas. As we share updates throughout the day, we will include revised restoration times as they become available.
Thank you for your patience as crews navigate very dangerous, ice covered road conditions. A safety reminder: if you do not have to be out, please stay home. Our offices will open at 10:00 a.m. today for employee and member safety.

**UPDATE 10:30 PM: Earlier today we shared that we were not out of the storm yet, and unfortunately, we were right.

We are aware of the outage in Chestnut Mound and Granville. Crews are assessing the damage now. Depending on the situation and the location of the issue, we will determine whether we can safely restore power tonight or if restoration will need to happen in the morning. Just in case, please make arrangements to be without power through the night.

At this time, we have 14 outages affecting 1,082 members. With conditions still changing, this may not be the only outage we see tonight.

Our linemen have worked extremely hard all day and we are very proud of them. Thank you for your patience as we continue restoring power as safely and quickly as conditions allow.

**UPDATE 8:00 PM: At the peak of the storm early this morning, we had about 900 members without power, and our linemen have worked incredibly hard all day. We currently have 12 outages affecting 52 members.

Crews will be back early in the morning to finish restoration. The remaining repairs are in a few hard-to-reach locations and require daylight for safe access.

For employee and member safety, our offices will open at 10:00 AM tomorrow due to road conditions.

Thank you for your patience.

*UPDATE 6:00 PM: We have continued making progress, and we have 19 outages remaining affecting 261 members.

What remains is the more difficult work. Several of the remaining outages involve broken poles and damage in rough, hard to reach areas, which takes more time and often requires specialized equipment. Some of the remaining repairs also require daylight for safe access and visibility.

Our crews will work until late tonight, then get some rest and be back at it early in the morning to finish restoration efforts. Thank you for your patience as we keep pushing forward safely.

*UPDATE 1:30 PM: Power restoration is well underway, and we currently have 584 members without power. Most remaining outages are in Smith and Jackson counties.

Crews are finding a mix of broken poles and trees down. The remaining outage locations are in difficult to reach areas. Because of the access challenges and the repairs needed, our estimated time to complete restoration is tomorrow. We will continue working this afternoon and tonight, but please make plans now in case your power is out overnight.

We are also closely monitoring the expected winds and a drop in temperatures. We are not out of the storm yet. Strong winds could cause additional outages, especially with ice already weighing down trees and limbs.

Thank you for your patience as crews work to restore power as quickly as possible while keeping safety first.

ORIGINAL POST: As Winter Storm Fern continues to bring freezing rain and ice to our region, Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (UCEMC) is responding to 40 outages impacting 754 members. Outages began around 4:00 AM today. Our crews have been out for several hours assessing damages and restoring power.

“Severe winter weather creates dangerous conditions for everyone, including icy roads, falling limbs, and the risk of electrical hazards,” said Jennifer Brogdon, CEO and General Manager. “We are asking our members to put safety first, limit travel when possible, and use extra caution around any storm damage. Our crews will restore service as safely and efficiently as conditions allow.”

Our teams are working in cold, difficult conditions, and travel is extremely challenging. Many roads are a solid sheet of ice, and reaching outage locations is taking much longer than normal. Our teams are driving slowly and carefully because safety comes first.

Most outages appear to be caused by trees on lines and downed lines. We also have a broken pole in Smith County in a hard-to-reach area. The western side of our service area has been hit the hardest, particularly Smith and Jackson counties, and resources are being shifted to support restoration in those areas. Employees from multiple departments are also out assessing damage and assisting where needed.

The good news is our substations are icy but holding.

Safety reminders for the public:

• Assume any downed line is energized. Stay far away and report it immediately to 911.

• Report outages safely. Use text, phone, the mobile app, or our website. Do not approach damaged equipment.

• Use generators the right way. Operate generators outdoors only, far from doors, windows, and vents. Never run a generator in a garage or enclosed space.

• Prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Never use grills, camp stoves, or ovens to heat your home. Make sure fuel burning appliances are properly vented.

• Practice safe heating. Keep space heaters at least three feet away from anything that can burn and plug them directly into a wall outlet. Turn them off when you leave the room or go to sleep.

• Protect your family during outages. Dress in layers, close off unused rooms, and check on neighbors, especially seniors and those who may need extra help.

• Travel only when needed. Roads are extremely icy, and crews and emergency responders need clear access to restore power and respond to calls.

UCEMC restores power to the outage affecting the greatest number of members first, then moves into smaller pockets of outages. Some individual outages can take longer if they require specialized repairs, difficult access, or additional safety steps due to storm damage and road conditions.

To report an outage, please use one of these methods:

• Text OUT to 1 800 261 2940

• Call our phone system at 1 800 261 2940 and press 1

• Mobile App: Log in, select your account, choose Menu, then Services, then 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

Restoration updates

UCEMC will continue sharing restoration updates through our website and social media channels as conditions change.

Facebook: Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation

Instagram: @UpperCumberlandEMC

X: @UCEMCOfficial

Thank you for your patience and cooperation. Safety first, always.