2nd Round of Storms blow through AEC Service Area

Outages in Alpha and Bean Station areas

A second round of severe storms hit the AEC service area on 5/22/2013, causing interruption to electric facilities and resulting in power outages for local members. At approximately 3:00 pm. on Wednesday afternoon, a storm with high winds and heavy downpours caused problems in the Alpha and Bean Station areas of the cooperative service area, affecting approximately 600 members. AEC had substation breakers out at both the Alpha and Bean Station electric substations. As line crews worked to restore power, tree crews were also busy removing trees from electric lines. The Co-op had one pole down in the Tate Springs area of Grainger County.

An earlier storm on Tuesday evening (5/21) resulted in damages and outages on the south side of the AEC service area, including the Dandridge, White Pine, Chestnut Hill and Swansylvania communities. Some 4,000 residents were without power during the height of that storm. AEC operations personnel had power restored to over 3,800 of those members during the night and all electric services were restored by mid-day on Wednesday (5/22)

The span of 24 hours has been difficult for consumers and electrical workers alike, however, AEC crews continue to provide service restoration around the clock. The Cooperative appreciates the patience and understanding of the membership during the unfortunate event.