Congressman Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) criticized Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) rolling blackout mandates over the Christmas weekend.
Burchett shared an article on Twitter regarding TVA’s “failed” effort to not interrupt power over the weekend, adding in a comment, “We were failed once again by @TVAnews [TVA].”
We were failed once again by @TVAnews https://t.co/x4EOKRxiVC
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) December 26, 2022
The day before Burchett’s comment, the congressman revealed that TVA’s rolling blackout mandate affected him and his family personally, as the blackouts led to his family’s barn pipes freezing.
“TVA’s rolling blackouts kicked our barn heaters off and our pipes froze in the barn,” Burchett tweeted on Christmas Eve.
TVA’s rolling blackouts kicked our barn heaters off and our pipes froze in the barn. It could be worse. Congress could have passed a $1.66 trillion pork and woke laden bill. pic.twitter.com/I08nLaD3Iy
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) December 25, 2022
TVA issued a mandate for 153 local power companies across Tennessee and beyond to “temporarily reduce power supplies to localized areas” on Friday in response to cold temperatures driving up the power demand. TVA’s mandate carried on into Saturday morning before being terminated, as previously reported by The Tennessee Star.
TVA announced Monday that it set “multiple power demand records” during the “extreme weather event.”
On Friday, TVA hit the “highest 24-hour electricity demand” in its history, with 740 gigawatt-hours being supplied. Friday also saw the company experiencing its “highest winter peak power demand” of 33,425 megawatts.
On Saturday, TVA hit its “highest weekend peak power demand” in its history, recording a record 31,765 megawatts.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we managed record-setting power demand over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/PAPkMVbsLK
— Tennessee Valley Authority (@TVAnews) December 26, 2022
Following the termination of the rolling blackout mandate, Don Moul, TVA’s chief operating officer, said in a statement, “We are grateful for our 153 local power companies and industrial customers who have been key partners in weathering this extraordinary event.”
TVA followed its termination of rolling blackouts by asking the public to “reduce electric power use as much as possible without sacrificing safety” in the following 36 hours and during cold temperatures in the future to help conserve energy.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Tim Burchett” by Tim Burchett.
