DUANE SHERRILLEditor

Hundreds attended the annual Public Power Week celebration on the campus of Tullahoma Utilities Authority (TUA) this past week, enjoying food and fun while being informed about what the local power provider does on a daily basis to keep the lights on.

According to Allen Potter, President and CEO of TUA, public power serves over 2,000 cities in the United States.

“We happen to be one of those public utilities,” he noted. “Here in Tullahoma we provide power to about 11,500 citizens. We do that with 12 linemen so we are small but good ground. They work very hard.”

He revealed that four TUA linemen are in East Tennessee helping with recovery from the storms. He said that was something that public power utilities do for each other: help during time of disaster.

“In public power we are always looking for ways to give back,” he said. “We work together. If we had a storm here we would get help from outside if needed. We’re a close knit group.”

Potter pointed out that Tullahoma has about 250 miles of overhead line, 75 miles of underground line and three substations.

“That’s how we power Tullahoma,” he said.

Potter added that the gathering on the campus of TUA is to help get awareness out about what they do for to the public.

“Public power is community owned so our citizens own this,” he said. “Our board is appointed by the board of mayor and alderman so it is locally controlled.”

Along with food and demonstrations, the event also had bucket truck rides, jump houses and lots of giveaways.