JELLICO, Tenn. — Jellico Utilities said the Tennessee Valley Authority has scheduled a planned outage from 10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2 to 8 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3.
Jellico Utilities said it will turn off the power for all of its 4,500 customers in the Campbell County and Whitely County, KY areas. However, some customers could see their power on sooner.
TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said the outage is "to replace some aging equipment at the Jellico substation, which is going to improve reliability for Jellico customers and prevent any unplanned outages in the future."
This outage will impact all Jellico Utilities customers. During the outage, TVA will be conducting essential system maintenance, according to the utility company.
The planned outage was first announced on Nov. 14.
"We sincerely appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this period. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and assure you that every effort will be made to minimize the duration of the interruption," Jellico Utilities said.
Derek Douglas lives in Jellico and works with a group called the Scientific and Technical Advisory Council. He said he understands the need to fix the old transformers at the substation.
"We're lucky that this is on a night, it's not cold and freezing," he said. "If they don't make these preparations, and work on the facilities, it could come when it's 10 below. And it could be a crisis for many families. So this is important work. It's sustainable, and that it's working to create a better grid for our communities. "