TVA asks customers to conserve power during critical Wednesday morning period

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is asking consumers to take special steps to conserve electricity between 6-10 a.m. Wednesday, as the power supplier will be working to meet record power demand amid zero-degree temperatures.

TVA asks customers across the Valley to do the following between 6-10 a.m.:

• Lower your thermostat by two or three degrees, if safe to do so.
• Postpone using large appliances (washer/dryer, stove/oven, dishwasher, etc.).
• Postpone use of hot water.
• Turn off and unplug non-essential lights and appliances.
• Commercial Business: Turn off any lights and office equipment (or place in sleep mode) when the space is not in use.
• Commercial Business: Turn off air-conditioning/heating outside of business hours.

TVA has made significant system improvements and expansion since December of 2022 when the agency lacked adequate capacity to meet customer demand and required local power companies to perform rolling blackouts to secure the power grid. It was the first time in the agency’s 90-year history it was unable to meet power demand.

Power demand projections for Wednesday morning exceed what the area experienced in December of 2022, but TVA is better positioned to deliver thanks to its improvements. With some extra help from consumers by taking the suggested actions for conservation Wednesday morning, TVA will be that much better positioned to meet what is expected to be a record peak demand.

TVA’s all-time peak demand record sits at just less than 33,482 megawatts (MW). Wednesday morning’s peak is expected to reach approximately 36,000 MW.

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