Montgomery County, TN – Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (CEMC) has about 29,000 members currently without power. In addition to their own crews, CEMC has about a dozen extra contract crews on their way to assist with restoration efforts. CEMC cannot stress enough how important it is to avoid any downed lines or damaged poles/equipment.
If you have not been able to successfully report your outage by calling or texting OUT to 800.987.2362, or online via SmartHub, don’t worry. CEMC’s system automatically detects most outages, and their crews are most likely already aware of your outage even if you couldn’t report it. They are working as quickly as possible to restore power to all affected members.
Ice storms are some of the most damaging winter weather events we face. Even a small amount of ice adds extreme weight to power lines, poles, and trees, which can cause lines to sag, equipment to fail, and trees to snap. One quarter inch of ice can add up to 500 pounds of weight to a power line. This type of damage takes longer to repair than a typical outage because ice doesn’t just knock out power, it physically breaks parts of the system.
Crews restore power in order to safely bring service back to the greatest number of members as quickly as possible. Critical facilities and major lines must be repaired first before individual neighborhoods can be restored.
Please keep safety top of mind:
- Stay indoors when possible and avoid trees or power lines weighed down by ice
- Always assume downed power lines are energized and stay far away. DO NOT approach downed or damaged equipment
- Report downed lines immediately to 911 or CEMC
- Never run generators indoors or plug them into wall outlets
Crews have been deployed in all five counties we serve, and are making repairs in difficult conditions. CEMC will continue to work until every member is restored. CEMC knows outages are frustrating, especially in extreme cold, and we appreciate your patience as crews work to restore power as safely and quickly as conditions allow.
About Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation
The Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (CEMC) is a nonprofit electric cooperative regulated by TVA and governed by a member-elected board of directors. We are committed to meeting the needs of our membership by delivering safe, affordable, and reliable services the cooperative way.
For your convenience, CEMC has one telephone number to serve all your needs, including power outages and service requests, 800.987.CEMC (2362).
For more information visit their website at www.cemc.org
