MTEMC encourages electricity conservation

As the state chips out of the ice that wreaked havoc on traffic and electric service, bitterly cold temperatures are on the way. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is asking local power distributors and their members to help conserve energy through Friday.

As a TVA distributor, Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is encouraging its members to help out where they can. Officials are requesting their residential, commercial and industrial consumers, to help in the reduction through the end of the week. The reduction will assist TVA in continuing to provide power across their seven-state territory. All of TVA's generation capabilities will be utilized to meet the peak power demand.

"As we have done through the last several rounds of cold weather, TVA will use all of our available generating sources to meet the expected high power demand, which will likely peak on Thursday morning," said Jacinda Woodward, senior vice president of TVA Transmission and Power Supply. "As consumers of TVA power, we all can step up to help reduce power consumption and lower our own power bills at the same time."

MTEMC reminds members there are some easy steps that can be taken to reduce their energy consumption while saving money at the same time.

In order to keep the heat in and the cold out, here are a couple of energy-saving tips:

- If your home has southern-facing windows, open the curtains or blinds during the day to allow sunlight to naturally warm your home and close them in the evenings.

- Keep your doors and windows closed as much as possible; to include overhead doors on attached garages.

- Use a heavy-duty, clear plastic sheet on a frame or tape the plastic to the inside of your window frames during the cold times. Make sure the plastic is sealed as tight as possible to help reduce the chance of cold seeping in.

- If you are able to, add a bead of caulk to your windows and weather stripping to doors to help seal any potential leaks.

- If you have a fireplace, ensure the damper is closed unless you have a fire burning.

- Lower your water heater temperature to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

"These tips are just a few of the things members can do to get through this period of freezing weather while still managing their monthly energy consumption," said Josh Clendenen, MTEMC communications coordinator.

For more energy saving tips like these, log on to www.mtemc.com.

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 200,000 residential and business members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties.

For more information, please contact TVA Public Relations at 865-632-6000, or for MTEMC questions, please contact MTEMC Communications Coordinator Josh Clendenen at 615-494-1071 or 615-516-5020.