AccuWeather spoke with the Tennessee Valley Authority about how they've prepared for frigid weather and what their customers can do in the latest cold snap.
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00:00 Joining us right now is Scott Brooks,
00:01 the public relations specialist for
00:03 the Tennessee Valley Authority,
00:04 which provides power to parts of seven states.
00:06 Got good morning.
00:07 Thanks for joining us on this busy Monday.
00:10 Good morning, yeah, thanks.
00:14 We're glad to be here.
00:15 Absolutely now let's talk about this
00:17 'cause you know it's not too often
00:18 that winter strikes hard in the
00:20 Mid South, but it always happens.
00:22 You know, every year we always
00:23 look out for an event like this.
00:25 Not every day, but there's always one
00:27 where things get a little concerning.
00:29 When it comes to frigid temperatures,
00:31 are you concerned about such cold air
00:33 impacting power from the TVA plants?
00:36 But yeah, certainly we were getting
00:40 a dusting of snow as you mentioned.
00:42 A couple of inches expected throughout
00:44 our area, Knoxville, Nashville,
00:45 and in our service territory.
00:46 But what we're really watching
00:48 are the cold temperatures.
00:49 Anytime we get into the teens
00:51 and in the single digits,
00:52 people like to be comfortable,
00:54 so they they tend to turn up their
00:56 thermostats a little bit to try to
00:58 to keep warm and then your heating
01:00 unit has to work that much harder,
01:02 which adds additional demand
01:03 onto our system.
01:04 So we've taken steps over the last
01:06 six months to prepare for this kind
01:08 of winter weather lessons learned
01:10 from winter storm Elliott back
01:12 in December of 2022.
01:13 $123 million investment in everything
01:14 from insulation around our pipes
01:16 to enclosing some of our infrastructure
01:18 that was affected by the cold
01:20 and winter storm Elliott.
01:21 So we think we're as ready as we can
01:24 be for what's out there and what's
01:26 coming great to see the TVA so prepared
01:28 and getting things ready ahead of time.
01:31 Of course, now in terms of customers,
01:33 maybe person by person on that basis
01:35 who get their power from the TVA.
01:37 Do you have any advice perhaps for
01:39 them to stay safe as we move through
01:41 this cold and wintery start to the week?
01:44 Sure, so safety is certainly
01:47 the number one priority.
01:48 So if the next couple of days you
01:50 don't have to be out, certainly don't.
01:52 I think a lot of folks in our area
01:54 are going to be able to stock up over
01:56 the weekend to get ready for this.
01:58 So but if you want to save money on
02:01 your power bill and help help us
02:03 beat the peak as it were,
02:04 there are some simple things you can do,
02:07 like opening the blinds on your
02:08 windows during the day when that when
02:10 the sun comes in, even if it's a little
02:12 cloudy that radiant heat will help
02:14 keep your house warm and keep your
02:16 heating unit from having to work that hard.
02:18 Set your thermostat.
02:19 Whatever is comfortable for you.
02:20 Turn it back degree or two off of
02:22 whatever is comfortable if you're at 70 or 72.
02:25 Just a degree or two can make a
02:27 difference on your power bill 3% per
02:29 degree for every degree that you come
02:30 off of what would normally be your
02:32 comfort level, especially during the day,
02:34 which we usually see our peak demand
02:36 anywhere from early morning to early
02:38 afternoon as people get moving in.
02:40 And avoid using major appliances
02:41 during the day when the highest
02:43 demand would be that includes your
02:45 washer dryer. Do that in the off peak
02:47 hours in the late evening or very early
02:49 morning to and again that helps keep
02:51 your house warm and keep your heating
02:53 unit from having to and again that
02:55 helps on your power bill but also
02:57 helps us meet those peak demands.
02:58 Scott Brooks, public relations
03:00 specialist for the Tennessee Valley
03:01 Authority. Thank you so much for
03:03 joining us on this business and
03:04 wintery morning. Great tips this
03:06 morning for all of our viewers.
03:08 Thank you.