Outage Reporting with MLEC

MLEC makes proactive steps like clearing right of way and using quality equipment and material to prevent power outages during severe weather. However, Mother Nature can cause outages with things like winter snow and ice and spring and summer thunderstorms.

To report power outages that occur outside of MLEC's normal business hours of 7:30 a.m. thru 4:30 p.m. Monday thru Friday, members are reminded to call the after-hours call center for their area. The call is toll-free and ensures that members will reach someone on the first call.

"We are at our members' service 24-hours a day, 7-days-a-week when it comes to repairing outages," says MLEC General Manager Hal Womble. "The call center staff provides quality service. It is continuously staffed in order to dispatch MLEC employees around the clock in the quickest, easiest manner possible for our members."

The 1-800 phone numbers are unique to each county. Hickman County, including Dyer Road, will call 1-800-482-6553. Lewis County will use 1-800-256-2807 to report outages. Perry County, including Pleasantville, will call 1-800-316-2342. MLEC members served out of Humphreys County will use 1-800-893-8273; Houston County members will call 1-800-650-6814.

Most MLEC members will see these numbers printed in the yellow pages of their phone directory. However, in some phone directories, the phone company lists incorrect numbers in the white pages due to printing errors. Members also have quick access to the numbers on a yellow magnet that was inserted in their electric bills earlier this year. If you need another magnet, just contact your local office of MLEC. For power outages that occur within the normal workday and other questions about MLEC, members should call their local MLEC office.

Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative is a non-profit organization offering reliable, low-cost electricity to over 33,000 members in Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lewis and Perry Counties. Member - Electric power companies of Middle Tennessee.

Fish Camp Restaurant Receives $96,000 Loan From MLEC

Pictured from left are, MLEC VP of Administrative Services and CFO Randy James, MLEC Hickman County Board Member Johnnie Ruth Elrod, Fish Camp owners Troy and Kim Bates, and MLEC General Counsel John Lee Williams.

Fish Camp Restaurant in Centerville received $96,000 from Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative on June 30. The interest-free loan was made from MLEC’s Revolving Loan Fund (RLF).

Owned by Troy and Kim Bates, Fish Camp received major damage from flooding in early May and only recently began opening weekends for take-out orders. They will use the funds to help with building and equipment repairs so they can re-open and be full-service to the community and surrounding areas, as well as bring employees back to work.

“Just seeing how MLEC was able to use this fund following the floods has been one of the highlights of my board service,” says MLEC Hickman County Director Johnnie Ruth Elrod. “It gives a boost to our community in taking another step toward recovery.”

As the loan is paid back over ten years, MLEC can loan it out again for other economic and community development projects. The RLF was established in 1996 with co-op funds and a grant from Rural Utilities Service. Since its inception, the RLF has awarded almost $700,000 in the MLEC service area. Hickman County’s first recipient was the Board of Education which used funds to help make improvements at the high school baseball field, track and auditorium, among other projects.

Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative, a Touchstone Energy® cooperative, is a non-profit organization offering reliable, low-cost electricity to 35,000 members in Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lewis and Perry counties. Member – electric power companies of Middle Tennessee. Remember to play it safe around electricity.

TVA FCA Raises Electric Rates

For the fifth time this year, Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative members and other Tennessee Valley Authority power distributors will see an increase to the amount paid for electricity. TVA’s Fuel Cost Adjustment is set to climb July 1.
For MLEC’s average residential member who uses 1200 kilowatt-hours of electricity each month, it means a 2.2 percent ($2.66) monthly increase. The FCA will take MLEC’s residential per kilowatt-hour charge from $0.08547 to $0.08768, the highest it has been since January 2009.
“With price increases, we’re all looking at our homes and businesses to see where we can make cut-backs,” says MLEC President and CEO Hal Womble. “We encourage members to check our website and information centers for free tools that can help identify where energy can be conserved and ultimately save on their energy bill.”

The FCA is subject to monthly changes, and a current rate schedule is always posted at the Cooperative’s website, www.mlec.com.
Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative, a Touchstone Energy® cooperative, is a non-profit organization offering reliable, low-cost electricity to 35,000 members in Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lewis and Perry counties. Member – electric power companies of Middle Tennessee. Remember to play it safe around electricity.

Planned Power Outage July 25

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has scheduled a power outage to continue repairs caused by the flooding in May at the electric substation in Centerville.  The outage is scheduled for four hours to begin at midnight (11:59 PM) on Saturday night, July 24, and end by 4 a.m. on Sunday, July 25.

The four hour outage will affect all homes and businesses receiving electricity from the substation. Some of these areas include the town of Centerville, Aetna, Swan Creek, Pleasantville, Brushy, Shipps Bend, Tottys Bend, and Duck River among others.

"We asked TVA to plan their outage for the weekend of July 24 so that we could interrupt our member’s schedules as little as possible,” says MLEC District Manager Marshall Carothers. “We appreciate everyone's understanding and cooperation."

MLEC encourages those with questions or concerns to call 931-729-3558. They also reported that in the event of inclement weather, the outage would be rescheduled.

Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative, a Touchstone Energy® cooperative, is a non-profit organization offering reliable, low-cost electricity to 35,000 members in Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lewis and Perry counties. Member – electric power companies of Middle Tennessee. Remember to play it safe around electricity.

Washington Youth Tour 2010

Seven students from the five-county Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative service area were sponsored by the cooperative on the 2010 Washington Youth Tour June 11-17. They earned this expense-paid trip for being the top winner at their school in MLEC’s annual short story contest.

Students representing MLEC on the WYT included Blake Harper, Perry County High School; Jon Hudson, McEwen High School; Vanessa Mathews, Waverly Central High School; Allison Parker, Houston County High School; Sarah Ramsey, Lewis County High School; and Emily Voncx, East Hickman High School. Michelle Puckett, junior English teacher from Waverly Central High School was also awarded a spot on the tour to recognize her invaluable support of the co-op’s youth programs. Dawn Orton, MLEC Member Services Assistant, served as chaperone. (Lynsi Boehms of Hickman County High School was also awarded the trip; however, due to other commitments and circumstances, she was unable to participate in this year’s tour.)

The Electric Cooperative Youth Tour has been a joint effort of local electric co-ops such as MLEC, their statewide co-op association and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association for more than 40 years. Each school year, MLEC sponsors a short story contest for high school juniors. Winners are awarded expense-paid trips to our nation’s capital the following June as part of the Washington Youth Tour. This year’s whirlwind trip included meetings with elected officials, visits to Washington’s popular tourist stops and time to meet some 130 winners representing other co-ops across the state.

“This year’s Washington Youth Tour was a great experience,” says Orton. “The students who represented MLEC did their hometown’s proud.”

On the tour, students saw famous sites they’d learned about in school, including the White House and memorials to past presidents Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt as well as monuments honoring the sacrifices of veterans of World War II and the Vietnam and Korean conflicts. Strolls through the varied museums of the Smithsonian Institution afforded the students opportunities to learn more about science, history and art. Other fun stops included homes of former presidents — George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Jefferson’s Monticello — a performance of “Thurgood” at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and tours of the Washington National Cathedral, Crime and Punishment Museum and the Newseum.

The Youth Tour also included solemn and sobering visits to Arlington National Cemetery, where the group laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns. The Tennessee group marveled at the precision and skill of the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps and Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon at the Sunset Parade, performed in front of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial’s iconic statute re-creating the flag-raising over Iwo Jima.

No trip to Washington, D.C. would be complete without a lesson or two in government and civics. The group was treated to a special after-hours, VIP guided tour of the historic U.S. Capitol by Rep. Lincoln Davis of Pall Mall and a meeting on the Capitol steps with Tennessee’s senators, Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker. Later, Tennessee’s House representatives met with their constituents at the Capitol.

An annual treat, Tennessee’s Youth Tour delegation joined other trip winners from across the country for Youth Day on Monday, June 14. More than 1,500 students came together to swap stories of their Washington experiences. And Mike Schlappi, a four-time Paralympic medalist and two-time wheelchair basketball champion, returned for this year’s program to share his inspiring message for every American, young or old: “Just because you can’t stand up doesn’t mean you can’t stand out.”

“The Washington Youth Tour contest and trip teaches students about cooperatives and gives them a sense of pride in our country,” says MLEC President and CEO Hal Womble. “MLEC is honored to be part of this tradition and the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of students.”

Meriwether Lewis Electric Cooperative, a Touchstone Energy® cooperative, is a non-profit organization offering reliable, low-cost electricity to over 35,000 members in Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lewis and Perry counties. Member – electric power companies of Middle Tennessee. Remember to play it safe around electricity.