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.