TVA asks customers to conserve power through end of week
With frigid temperatures expected to continue through the end of the week, the Tennessee Valley Authority is urging all electric power consumers—including Hartselle Utilities customers—to voluntarily reduce their electricity usage beginning tomorrow at 6 a.m.
Extreme cold temperatures are placing significant demand on TVA’s power system, the utility company said in a statement, and proactive measures are needed to ensure reliability for all users across the seven-state TVA service territory until further notice.
Voluntary measures include:
• Lowering thermostats by just one or two degrees. Ceiling fans should be set to clockwise rotation to keep warm air circulating.
• Delay using washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and high-energy-use appliances as much as possible until temperatures moderate.
• Keep window coverings closed on the non-sunny side of homes but open them if bright sunlight is available to provide additional heat.
These steps are vital to maintaining power system stability, avoiding service interruptions, and ensuring a reliable supply of electricity during this period of high demand, the statement read.
Hartselle Utilities general manager Ty Chancelor said the request is a precaution that is common during the winter months.
“We had the warmer weather and are now seeing a dip so it shocked the system,” Chancelor said. “(TVA) has the infrastructure to handle it – this is purely precautionary.”
This request applies to all residential, commercial, and industrial power consumers across the region.
During the winter months, the demand for electricity typically peaks each morning between 6 and 9 a.m.
