February 6, 2008, HARTSVILLE – The Tennessee Valley Authority and Tri-County Electric Membership Corp. are working to restore power to customers as soon as possible, said U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon.
“My office has been in communication with both TVA and Tri-County EMC to get electricity restored to residents as soon as possible,” said Gordon. “Tri-County EMC hopes to have power restored to Red Boiling Springs and Lafayette tonight, but TVA tells me Hartsville residents probably won’t have their power restored until Friday at the earliest.”
Tri-County EMC has four crews working to restore service, and an additional 15 crews from nearby electric companies are helping them.
Five of TVA’s 161-KV towers and the main line running from TVA’s Gallatin Steam Plant to Hartsville were destroyed by the tornado.
“TVA’s engineers and crews are working around the clock to restore power, but they have to remove debris and demolish what’s remaining first,” said Gordon. “TVA is bringing in materials from Muscle Shoals, Ala., to restore electricity to customers.”
According to TVA, Tri-County EMC is the only TVA customer remaining without service as a result of the storm.