[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.