Cookeville Electric and Gas preparing crews and equipment ahead of possible winter weather that could impact utility service.
Director Carl Haney said the department has multiple crews available if outages occur and can expand staffing quickly as conditions change. Haney said much of the logistical work comes long before the storm hits.
“Most of our preparation comes year long in our right-of-way maintenance and tree trimming,” Haney said. “That’s a tremendous help when situations like this arise.”
Haney said crews have taken additional steps this week to ensure they are ready if weather conditions worsen.
“We make sure all of our trucks are ready to go, our equipment is fueled, chainsaws are sharpened, and everybody understands the situation,” Haney said. “It could be that we need everybody in here to work. During situations like this, all of our employees are on standby and ready to be called in. If we start getting ice and snow, we have five electric crews and two gas crews that can come in and start working.”
Haney said restoration efforts focus first on critical infrastructure and the largest number of customers.
“We look at hospitals, police, fire, and other critical infrastructure immediately,” Haney said. “After that, we prioritize what will get the largest number of customers back on as quickly as possible.”
Haney said Cookeville Energy also works closely with other utility systems across the state when severe weather affects neighboring communities.
“We have mutual aid agreements with electric systems across Tennessee,” Haney said. “If another area is hit harder, we’ll send crews to help them, and they do the same for us.”
Haney said the department will continue monitoring weather conditions and is ready to respond if ice or snow leads to outages.