TVA hits peak, record-setting demand, no blackouts reported

UPDATE: The TVA broke their peak record demand on Wednesday, January 17, while ensuring that the people of Tennessee Valley had power to stay warm during the frigid temperatures.

The TVA says that 34,526 megawatts were pushed out.

The previous record was 33,482 megawatts in August of 2007.

Scott Fiedler with TVA said the record was hit Wednesday morning at 8 a.m.

“That is roughly about double the normal day, during a nice sunny day. We generated a tremendous amount of energy to keep valley homes warm and safe,” Fiedler said.

The TVA had over 40,000 more megawatts available to use for power, if needed, which they anticipated getting closer to.

“We were expecting maybe 5 or 10% more but we were able to get that down, thanks to everybody across the Tennessee Valley,” Fiedler said.

Following winter storm Elliot and the rolling blackouts we saw in December of 2022, TVA invested about $123,000 to avoid those blackouts.

Fiedler said those investments played a vital role in the peak power demand as well.

“This investment in winter readiness was a year-long process. That included additional structures around critical equipment, heat tape to keep sensors warm during bitter cold, also adding installation to our plants, providing real time sensors so our plant operators have that on hand and take action as soon as they see an issue,” Fiedler said.

Fiedler said TVA will invest another $120-million this year to keep them ready for future challenges.

While there is celebration now, the TVA still has to get through one more wave of cold weather this week.

“Saturday, is going to be another high peak power demand day but we don't anticipate it to set another record,” Fiedler said.

PREVIOUS STORY: The Tennessee Valley Authority said Wednesday that their preliminary peak power demand was 34,526 megawatts, setting an all-time TVA record.

The previous record was 33,482 megawatts, which was set in August of 2007.

The TVA also reports that their power grid is stable and their generating facilities are performing "well."

The agency did not report any blackouts, a sharp contract to the Christmas holiday rolling blackouts of 2022.

But as they did earlier this week, along with several other power utilities, they asked consumer to reduce their energy consumption.

The TVA also offered some helpful tips to conserve power: