Carroll County Electric System Improvements Aid Quick Recovery After January Ice Storm

CARROLL COUNTY (January 29) — The Carroll County Electric Department (CCED) successfully navigated the major power outages caused by the January 24-25 snow and ice event, a success attributed to continuous system upgrades and critical lessons learned from the devastating February 1994 ice storm.

General Manager Ryan Drewry confirmed that freezing rain and ice accumulation caused major disruptions, with the peak number of confirmed outages reaching 6,620 customers out of the system's total 16,000. The ice, snow, and sleet, which added substantial weight to trees and lines, caused significant damage, including five broken utility poles.

Speaking at the January 29 meeting of the CCED Board of Directors, Drewry said restoration efforts, tracked using an electronic outage management system, began around 5 a.m. Sunday and continued through the night and into Monday. Crews from Carroll County Electric, assisted by Weakley County Municipal Electric, worked tirelessly, restoring power to most customers by Monday evening. Final clean-up and full restoration concluded around 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Following full restoration in Carroll County, a crew from CCED was also dispatched to provide mutual aid to Lexington Electric, which was also damaged by the storm.

Drewry noted that TVA performed well throughout the event, with no rolling blackouts implemented. However, TVA suffered significant outages in other areas in its multi-state service area.

Improvements Mitigate Damage

Since the 1994 ice storm, CCED has implemented several key improvements:

• Line Relocation: Major power lines were relocated to roadsides instead of across fields. In 1994, linemen occasionally had to climb utility poles that were located in areas where the heavy trucks could not maneuver. Now the department has four-wheel drive trucks and at least one smaller bucket truck to better serve in wet or tight areas.
• Tree Maintenance: An aggressive program for tree maintenance along power line rights of way was adopted, with Xylem tree service called in to clear major service lines during the recent storm.
• Equipment Updates: New digital electric meters helped report outages, and electrical substations can now be monitored from the central office in Huntingdon.
• In recent years, the department mapped all its poles, breakers, and service lines for exact location and equipment identification.
• In 1994, there were 14,234 customers without electrical power. Nursing homes and medical facilities were affected as many nursing home residents were relocated to both Baptist and Methodist hospitals in Huntingdon and McKenzie respectively.
• Following the deluge of icy weather, area temperatures rose, reducing the impact of snow-covered streets. However, electrical power was out for days. The Carroll County Civic Center was used as an emergency shelter People were later relocated to the Huntingdon National Guard, where cooks were located to prepare meals for the displaced residents.
• Gasoline stations could not pump fuel without electricity.

Future Modernization Plans

The department's ongoing equipment updates will continue in 2026 with two major projects:

1. New Substation: A new substation will be constructed in the Leach Community, near the 1,000-acre lake.
2. Substation Modernization: The electrical substation near the Carroll County Jail will be modernized, replacing old analog relay panels with new digital relays to improve system visibility and add a redundant relay system for the 161kV breaker. This project also includes upgrading two 69kV breakers.

Bids for the substation renovation construction will be solicited soon, with the cost included in a recent issuance of financing bonds.

Board members praised the administration, office staff, and line crews for their exceptional work during the ice storm. Special thanks were also extended to the community for their support, including providing meals to the crews from local establishments such as Cornerstone Eatery and Mallards.