Press Release: February 22, 2023

Middle Tennessee Electric Earns TVA Community Champion Award

MTE team members accept the award from TVA's Cindy Herron

Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE) has earned the Community Champion Award from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) for its dedication to TVA EnergyRight programs to benefit its community.

“MTE is grateful for this recognition from TVA and for its EnergyRight programs that allow us to serve our community and members in so many ways,” said Robert White, MTE vice president of member services and community relations.

The Community Champion Award honors a local power company that has actively promoted TVA EnergyRight programs and enthusiastically communicated its value to the community through public advocacy and strategic alliances.

In FY22, MTE supported its community through the School Uplift and Home Uplift programs. MTE assisted Smyrna Elementary School during its 12-month participation in School Uplift, including monthly meetings with school staff and STEM students to review their electric bills and helping host a kickoff workshop for the entire student body. The co-op helped Cannon County Elementary School save even more energy by securing an additional $80,000 through the United Way to purchase new classroom chillers.

MTE also continues to serve residents with a high energy burden through Home Uplift. The cooperative has increased its program contributions and received the first third-party contribution to Home Uplift from First Baptist Church Murfreesboro, located on East Castle Street.

“We are proud to partner with MTE on energy-saving programs like School Uplift and Home Uplift that directly benefit the community,” said Cindy Herron, vice president, TVA Energy Services & Programs. “When schools and residents save money on their energy bills, they can use it for more important things like educating students and taking care of their families.”

MTE was also recognized among 153 local power companies served by TVA as a Top Performer in several EnergyRight program categories in FY22.
•   First place - Home Energy Evaluations with 386,501 kWh of energy savings from 733 participants
•   Second place - Carbon Reduction through EnergyRight programs with 29,338 tons of carbon reduced
•   Third place - New Homes with 6,188,835 kWh of efficient energy added to avoid 25,437 tons of carbon
•   Fifth place - Home Uplift Program with 220,083 kWh of energy savings through 70 homes uplifted

Learn more about how MTE is using TVA EnergyRight programs to benefit its community at https://energyright.com/highlightsreport/.

About Middle Tennessee Electric (MTE)

Founded in 1936, MTE is the largest electric cooperative in the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) region and the second largest in the United States, serving more than 750,000 Tennesseans via 330,000+ accounts covering nearly 2,200 square miles in 11 Middle Tennessee counties, primarily Rutherford, Cannon, Williamson and Wilson. Municipalities served include Murfreesboro, Franklin, Brentwood, Smyrna, La Vergne, Lebanon and Mt. Juliet. MTE employs around 530 people in six local offices and its Murfreesboro headquarters.

MTE’s subsidiary, United Communications, is a nationally recognized broadband company with a fiber network spanning more than 3,700 route miles, providing high-speed internet to portions of Williamson, Maury, Rutherford, Marshall, Bedford, Franklin, Wilson and Davidson counties. 

About Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.