NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Valley Authority is already warning electric companies to ask customers to conserve energy on Wednesday morning as it anticipates another peak demand.

The highest demand could happen between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. Upon waking up, some areas could be experiencing subzero temperatures or ones in the single digits across Middle Tennessee. Middle Tennessee Electric has already sent a memo to consumers.

Here’s what that means for your household or business to conserve energy:

• 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 space not in use.
• Commercial Business: Turn off air-conditioning/heating outside of business hours.

This will be the coldest air the NewsChannel 5 viewing area has experienced since December 2022. That month, a winter storm wreaked havoc across the country and was the coldest system average temp since February 1996. In Tennessee, that meant TVA had its highest demand on the power grid, and the state experienced rolling blackouts.
TVA officials said they have fixed enough of their equipment to avoid rolling blackouts again.

The energy provider said they’ve been working nonstop to complete their more than 3,400 winter readiness activities, including enclosures around exposed equipment, Insulating exposed heated electrical cabling and modernizing their heat trace technology.

For more info on energy conservation, visit tva.com.