Carroll County Electric Board Approves Grid Modernization

HUNTINGDON (August 27)  — The Carroll County Electric Department (CCED) Board of Directors took significant steps toward future-proofing the county’s power infrastructure during their August 27 meeting, approving a major grid modernization partnership and moving forward with plans for a new headquarters.  

The board unanimously voted to enter into a public-private project development agreement with TEC. The initiative aims to expand fiber connectivity across the county, providing CCED with an indefeasible right of use (IRU) for the network for an initial 20-year term at no cost to the electric department.  

CCED officials highlighted that the fiber network will provide critical redundancy for substations and enable real-time connectivity for essential devices such as capacitor banks, voltage regulators, and three-phase reclosers. This modernization is expected to improve system resilience, security, and fault response times.

Ryan Drewry, general manager of CCED, said the expansion of fiber optics involves an agreement with the electric distributor and TEC. It's up to TEC what other customers they add to the fiber network.  

In a move to address aging infrastructure, the board also approved an agreement with TLM Associates to begin the design process for a new office and warehouse facility. The current building, which has served the department for nearly 80 years, will be replaced as part of a long-term strategy to modernize operations. Jerry Hartsfield of TLM Associates presented a plan to oversee the architectural and engineering services, with the project moving into preliminary design phases immediately for a new facility at the intersection of Paris Avenue and Veterans Drive on land the CCED already owns. 

In other business, the board approved an engineering plan to upgrade circuits in the Huntingdon district. By replacing existing copper lines with new 336 ACSR wire and utilizing steel poles for double-circuit segments, the department aims to free up six megawatts of capacity to support growth in the South Huntingdon Industrial Park. CCED leadership noted that the project will include the use of in-house labor, which is expected to result in significant cost savings compared to contractor-led alternatives.  

The board also addressed recent wholesale rate structure updates from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) effective October 1. While the TVA has implemented new dedicated rates for large data centers and capacity commitment charges to protect existing ratepayers, CCED confirmed that these changes currently have no direct impact on local customers, as no data centers are currently operating or in development within the CCED service area.