Yearly Archives: 2019

/ 2019

Greeneville’s Carroll an Electric Vehicle Convert

Bill Carroll’s done more than see the future- he’s driving it. The longtime chief executive at Greeneville, Tenn., L&P loves fast, loud cars, but he’s now embraced electric vehicles. The former TVPPA chairman is a true believer, having been won over by a Nissan LEAF. “I didn’t want to like the car,” Carroll said. “I thought (electric vehicles’) were slow, useless and unreliable- but they are none of those.” Carroll said he decided a year ago that EVs were coming “whether
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DERMS Enrollment Spikes

In the space of two working days, June 28 and July 1, formal expressions of interest in Seven States Power Corp.’s DERMS program grew from four to seven local power companies that collectively serve 625,000 consumers in the Valley. Chief executives Wes Kelley of Huntsville Utilities, Huntsville, Ala., Kathryn West of North Georgia EMC, Dalton, Ga. and Rody Blevins of Volunteer EC, Decatur, Tenn., have each signed letters of intent indicating that they plan to implement Seven States’ DERMS software by
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DERMS Solution for Appalachian Electric Cooperative

For all that Appalachian EC, New Market, Tenn., has going for it, the cooperative is saddled with a significant deficiency. “We have one of the worst load factors in the Valley,” said Greg Williams, Appalachian EC’s longtime general manager and a former TVPPA chairman. “Our No. 1 goal is to impact our load factor.” Enter Seven States Power Corp., which not only offered Williams a way to manage his load control, but to do it with relative simplicity – thanks to
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Middle Tennessee EMC Making Solar ‘Simple’

Middle Tennessee EMC, Murfreesboro, Tenn., strives to make life better for its members through its focus on serving not only as their energy provider, but as their trusted energy advisor as well. “One of the ways we do that is through our Cooperative Solar Program,” said Chris Jones, the cooperative’s president and CEO. “It’s truly made solar simple. “We’re going to continue to look for more ways to bring renewable energy to our members and focus on being good stewards of
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Volunteer EC Goes Big on Backup

Rody Blevins’ new backup generators will represent the closing of an old loop. The veteran CEO at Volunteer EC, Decatur, Tenn., has ordered two 750-kV, gas-fired generators from Caterpillar through Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Stowers Machinery. He plans to have them up and running at the cooperative’s two largest service centers, in Cleveland, Tenn., and Crossville, Tenn., by October. Blevins said Volunteer EC is paying about $440,000 per unit – a savings of between 15 percent and 20 percent, per the new deal
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Seven States Power Corp. Attends Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga served as host to this year’s Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit on May 29-30, 2019. The Tennessee Valley Corridor (TVC) has built a strong alliance of community, business, education and government leaders through its technological summits that are held every year throughout the Valley. The primary focus of the summit is to advocate for collaboration and cooperation among key institutions, organizations, businesses and political leaders in the Tennessee Valley. In attendance at this year’s summit
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Board Meeting and CHP Tour

The Seven States Power Corp. (7SPC) board of directors met March 19 in Chattanooga, Tennessee after which several 7SPC directors toured a combined-heat-and-power (CHP) plant at Chattanooga’s largest hospital. “As more members explore CHP technology, Seven States staff is sharing opportunities for members and the board to not only see distributed-energy technologies up close, but to get so close they can literally touch them,” said 7SPC Vice President Betsey Kirk McCall. After the meeting at 7SPC’s offices, several board members repaired
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Volkswagen to make EVs in Chattanooga

Volkswagen has announced that its Chattanooga, Tenn., plant will serve as its North American base for manufacturing electric vehicles (EVs). The German automaker’s EV expansion will include an investment of $800 million into the Chattanooga facility and create 1,000 jobs at the plant, plus additional jobs at suppliers. EV production at the site will begin in 2022. “The US is one of the most important locations for us and producing electric cars in Chattanooga is a key part of our growth
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