HARRIMAN UTILITY BOARD GIVES UPDATE ON POWER OUTAGES
Posted by the Harriman Utility Board:
Power Restoration Update.
HUB crews and our mutual aid crews were sent back to their homes and hotels around midnight last night to get much-needed rest after two long days of storm restoration. At that time, we were down to approximately 50-60 customers without power and about 70 individual service orders that still needed to be checked.
As of this morning, the majority of remaining outages are single-home or very small, isolated cases, which take additional time to locate and repair. These will be worked throughout the day. We also experienced an outage in the Lee Village area this morning, and a crew is already en route to address that issue.
Today, HUB crews—along with mutual aid from Athens Utilities, Sevier County Electric System, Alcoa Electric, Cleveland Utilities, and Dark Horse Electric—are back in the field and will continue working until every customer is restored.
We want to acknowledge how especially frustrating this has been for customers who have been without power the longest. Please know that our linemen share that frustration. From the moment we realized how widespread and severe the damage was on Sunday morning, we called in as much mutual aid as we could reasonably manage to reduce outages as quickly as possible.
HUB was not alone in this storm. The ice event we experienced was similar to what hit Middle Tennessee, where hundreds of thousands of customers still remain without power. Unfortunately, our service area was caught in a concentrated pocket of heavy ice that caused widespread damage in a very short amount of time. While the ice later turned to rain and began melting—helping prevent even more outages—conditions remained extremely difficult for our crews.
Over the past 48+ hours, linemen and vegetation management crews have worked through rain, wind, and single-digit temperatures to clear debris and repair damage as quickly and safely as possible. This morning, all available resources are focused on completing the remaining work and resolving the final outages.
Thank you for your continued patience, understanding, and support as we complete the final steps of restoration.
HUB would like to sincerely thank the City of Alcoa, TN Government’s Electric Department for their mutual aid and outstanding support over the past couple of days. When the need was great, you stepped up without hesitation. We’re proud to work alongside utilities that truly understand the meaning of teamwork and service. Thank you for helping us take care of our customers—HUB will always stand ready to help you in return.
A huge thank you to the Loudon Utilities Board for sending these hardworking men (and a couple others not pictured) to help us over the past couple days. We truly appreciate your willingness to step in and support our community when we needed it most.
HUB will happily return the favor anytime you need us.
