Tennessee’s locally owned electric utilities are helping to get power back on in places impacted by Hurricane Irma, with more than 126 lineworkers from 12 municipal and county electric companies across Tennessee answering the call for help.

The Florida Municipal Electric Association on Sept. 18 reported that 99 percent of the state’s public power electric utility customers have had their power restored following the devastation of Hurricane Irma. FMEA said that approximately 18,500 public power electric customers remain without power in Alachua, Duval, Marion, Monroe and Polk Counties.

Sound financial performance metrics continued for public power electric utilities, as reflected in Moody's Investors Service fiscal year 2016 data, Moody’s said.

Utilities have struggled for years to engage their customers, and in no segment have they struggled more than low-income. The rebounding economy has not improved conditions for millions of low-income families in America who are still living in perpetual financial insecurity. Helping these families manage their energy spend so they can keep the lights on and ensure that their children stay warm in the winter should be a priority for every utility.

Several public power utilities, including TVA and EPB of Chattanooga, will participate in grid resilience and cybersecurity projects that recently received awards from the Department of Energy.

An investment in advanced metering infrastructure from Honeywell is enabling the Bolivar Energy Authority in Tennessee to deploy kiosks for payment services and a variety of other new billing, engineering, and energy usage applications that are proving to be very popular with utility customers and employees.

A first-hand account of the effects of Irma on Chattanooga, and a renewed appreciation for the work linemen do to get power flowing again.

With Florida and several other states still reeling from the effects of the monster storm Irma, this is a good time talk about disaster communications. Consider these principles to guide your program before, during and after the storm:

With recent announcements of retirements and candidacies for new positions, let's get an update on Tennessee’s election landscape.

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD) announced that it is now accepting Broadband Accessibility Grant applications until November 17, 2017. Established by the recently enacted Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act (TBAA), this program aims to spread broadband access to more Tennesseans while promoting practices that increase deployment and encourage adoption. In total, $10 million is available in the first round of grants.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Sept. 19 is scheduled to consider and vote on five nominations including Kevin McIntyre and Richard Glick, who were nominated by President Trump to be commissioners at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Also on that date the committee will hold a hearing to examine the vegetation management requirements for electricity assets on federal lands.

Have an important meeting or event coming to your town? Let us know and we'll put it on the TMEPA Calendar. Stay up to date with all the TMEPA meetings and other events around the state and even nationally for TMEPA Member Systems.

Would you like to receive daily updates about Tennessee politics and electric utilities, delivered every morning to your inbox? Our Daily News Clips is a list of news articles curated from hundreds of news articles we believe are of interest to TMEPA members. If you would like to receive the clips, just send an email to any of the staff (bsolsbee@tmepa.org, susans@tmepa.org or jelrod@tmepa.org). You can also see the current and past six days on our website by clicking on lick on the link below.

Located north of West Tennessee, Milan Public Utilities serves over 8,100 electric customers in three different counties along with 4,500 water customers. Earlier this year MPU hired a new general manager, Jason Griggs, to take the reins from the retiring David Scarbrough. Griggs talks about taking over an electric utility with his water background, MPU's planned updates and upgrades, and other big plans for the future.

TMEPA's Fall Engineering and Operations Conference will be held October 26-27 at the Embassy Suites Cool Springs in Franklin, Tennessee. The conference provides information on topics utilities are facing today, and it allows for engineers and operations staff to network and hear how their peers deal with similar issues. The program for the two-day meeting is being finalized. Click on "Learn More" for registration and program information.

Tullahoma Utilities Authority is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Electric Engineering Supervisor or Electric Engineer. This position will be responsible for a wide range of activities and key functions for the Tullahoma Utilities Authority. These responsibilities include but are not limited to engineering and system planning, program administration, and technology support.

Loudon Utilities Board, a municipal electric, natural gas, wastewater, and water utility, is seeking an Electrical Engineer for its Loudon, Tennessee, operations. Working under the instructions of the Director of Engineering, the individual awarded this position will have responsibilities in the following areas.......:

The City of Sparta, Tennessee is seeking qualified applicants for the position of Lineman with the Sparta Electric System. Sparta is located 90 miles east of Nashville, TN, 95 miles west of Knoxville, TN and 80 miles north of Chattanooga, TN. The service territory includes a 6.3 square mile service area with approximately 3,000 meters.

The City of Alcoa Electric Department is seeking a career-minded individual for the position of Electric Engineer. The work assignments of this position are professional, technical, and management in nature associated with the operation and maintenance of an electric utility system. The successful applicant will be expected to become proficient in all aspects of an electric utility including the engineering of electric distribution lines, sub-transmission lines, substations, transformer stations, metering and services, etc. The employee in this class also provides engineering direction for electric field operations. Applications and resumes should be submitted by Friday, September 15, 2017.

Dyersburg Electric System has an open position for a General Accountant. The position prepares and provides various reports to management, reconciles funds and accounts, performs audits, prepares and maintains accounts payable, etc. A Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from an accredited college or university and/or equivalent experience is required. A CPA is a plus. Five or more years of accounting experience preferred.

This position will perform work involved in the construction and maintenance of overhead and underground electrical service distribution facilities. This will also involve some repair of primary distribution facilities. Both primary and secondary facilities may have to be worked while energized. Employee is responsible for maintaining high work standards to ensure uninterrupted or quick restoration of service to consumers. This is a skilled full-time position under the supervision of a Working Foreman, General Foreman and Director of Operations.

This is an entry level apprentice lineman performing entry level work in the construction, operation, maintenance and repair of electrical distribution & transmission lines for Loudon Utilities Board.

The City of Trenton, TN, Light & Water Department is now accepting applications for a journeyman lineman. Interested applicants should contact Trenton Light & Water, P. O. Box 260, Trenton, TN 38382, 731-855-1561. Please click the link for more information.

Under general supervision of the Electrical Engineering Division Manager, designs modifications, extensions and improvements to high voltage underground and overhead electrical distribution systems, substations and City buildings and electrical systems.

PES Energize is currently seeking a Director of Accounting. This position will be responsible for supervising accounting, purchasing and general financial affairs.

Johnson City Power Board has an opening for a Customer Service Supervisor to oversee the contact Center and Walk-In areas to ensure a favorable image of JCPB is both demonstrated and conveyed with each customer contact.

With assistance from several Tennessee municipal utilities, coops and contractors, EPB crews restored power early in the morning of Wednesday, September 13, to all customers impacted by the storms from Irma.

With the effects of Hurricane Irma now turning into weeks of recovery efforts, crews from Newport Utilities are on their way to lend a helping hand. The local utility company is sending five employees, along with three trucks to Savannah, Georgia to assist with the recovery work, after the storm slammed the southeastern United States earlier this week.

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, a crew from the Tullahoma Utilities Authority (TUA) has been dispatched to the south central Florida town of Wauchula to assist efforts to restore power there. According to the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA), the small town of Wauchula in Hardee County was one of the hardest hit after the hurricane battered the state for three days. Following the storm, more than 800,ooo of the state’s municipal utility customers were without power. Nearly 3,000 of those affected are in Hardee County, which on Wednesday was still experiencing a 100 percent power outage.

AUB personnel were preparing for overnight storms in the Athens area, double checking assignments and plans, ensuring trucks were amply stocked, and planning for customer communications in the event of widespread outages or flooding. "This morning we're capitalizing on that preparation and lending the expertise of our crews to a power system in Florida that needs help," said AUB's Wayne Scarbrough. AUB is sending two crews along with the trucks and necessary equipment to work alongside crews in the City of Wauchula, Fla., a city of some 5,100 people about an hour southeast of Tampa that was hit hard by Hurricane Irma.

Memphis, Light, Gas and Water sent several employees down to Florida to help restore power after Hurricane Irma. Irma knocked out power for more than 4.5 million people. The storm packed a punch that left many homes and businesses flooded. MLGW has mutual aid agreements with several cities including Gainesville, Florida. "When we want people or crews to come in to help us restore our power for our customers, we don't want them hesitating," MLGW Communications Director Gale Jones-Carson said. To meet those agreements, MLGW sent 20 crew members down to Florida.

Once officials at Sevier County Electric System knew they weren't going to be facing outages in their own district this week, they turned their attention to helping restore utilities in Florida. Director Allen Robbins said Tuesday that they had an eight-man crew heading to Orlando, Florida. They also sent contract crews that had already been to Texas after Hurricane Harvey to Tampa, Florida, to aid in restoring power there. Robbins noted SCES had lots of help after last year's wildfires."We ended up with 19 different crews in (Gatlinburg) during the wildfire event," he said.

In anticipation of potentially devastating damage to electric grids in Florida from Hurricane Irma, Cleveland Utilities early this morning dispatched an emergency line crew to Gainesville. By early today, Irma’s outer rings were approaching the southern tip of the state.