LUB sees peak demands in January

‘I’m extremely proud of our employees’- Kenny Baird, LUB general manager

“Our folks did a great job. We had people sleep here to be on standby so if something happened they could get there quickly before the homes got too cold,” LUB General Manager Kenny Baird said.

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – The LaFollette Utility Board held its monthly workshop and meeting on Monday evening. There were no action items on the agenda, and the only business was to schedule the next LUB meeting for Thu., Feb. 29 at 7pm.

LaFollette Utility Board General Manager Kenny Baird said the utility had seen peak demands on power during the recent snow storm.

Baird said January would result in some “big bills” for customers due to the extreme cold.

“It is directly volume related. We saw peak demands twice,” Baird said. The Tennessee Valley Authority also reported peak demands.

Baird said he was proud of the utility employees.

“Our folks did a great job. We had people sleep here to be on standby so if something happened they could get there quickly before the homes got too cold,” Baird said.

He reported the LaFollette Utility saw “nothing widespread” as far as power outages went.

There was some outages in Yoakum Hollow that occurred, but they were repaired and the power back on within two hours.

Baird said upgrades were currently being made to the power in that area.

“Alder Springs was another area that’s on the list. All the houseboats out there had heat on and no one in them and that created a power drain. We got permission from the dock to cut them and solved it. When you get down to zero, the weak spots show up pretty quick,” Baird said.

Overall, he said LUB “fared very well” during the snow event.

“I’m extremely proud of our employees and I’m proud of the work we’ve done and the improvements and investments that have been made to the utility over the past 30 years,” Baird said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/30/2024-6AM)