Paris, TN – The regular monthly meeting of the Paris Utility Authority Board of Directors began with a motion to approve last months minutes and monthly financials.
Next the Board approved a motion for PUA to retain outside counsel and join a coalition of other local power companies in support of TVA and its position on wheeling power across its transmission system. Attorney fees will be paid by TVA. Paris Utility Authority President & CEO, Terry Wimberley explained that, when TVA is asked to wheel power inside the TVA service territory, it must take into consideration the impact on its customers and other stakeholders.
“I believe it is important for our organization to join this coalition in support of TVA’s position,” said Wimberley. “Wheeling power from outside TVA to local power companies within the valley could lead to increased costs to TVA wholesale customers. The trickledown effect of this could lead to rate increases at the local level, something we want to avoid.”
In his President’s Report, Wimberley introduced his employee guests, Damon Dowdy and Mark Jackson. Damon serves as the Water Treatment Plant Manager and has been with the organization since 2010. Mark serves as one of the Night Shift Water Treatment Plant Operators and has been with the utility since 2006. Not in attendance was Darren Webb, another Water Treatment Plant Operator. Wimberley noted that the utility is in the process of hiring a fourth operator at this time.
After acknowledging the Water Treatment Plant staff for their exceptional efforts in the transition from the old water treatment plant to the new, Wimberley acknowledged the Board for their foresight on the project. He also thanked the Board for their attendance at Tuesday’s Water Treatment Plant ribbon cutting.
Wimberley then provided an update on how the utility fared during the winter storm that impacted the area last week. He noted that the Electric Department was fortunate and saw no large-scale outages with only a handful of smaller outages scattered across the county. Wimberley went on the explain that the Water and Wastewater Departments had a very different experience.
“Our Water and Wastewater Departments put in a total of 277 hours of overtime between Thursday, February 11 and Sunday, February 21,” said Wimberley. “They repaired over 20 water main breaks and dealt with several leaks because of an aging infrastructure, below freezing temperatures and movement of the ground. I cannot commend these guys enough for their hard work and dedication.”
Wimberley reported that Paris Utility Authority (Paris BPU) and its employees, along with TVA contributed a total of $32,179 to this year’s Helping Hand Auction and praised his employees for their support of the auction.
In his closing remarks, Wimberley reported that there are no new or active COVID-19 cases in the organization.
About BPU – Established as an independent board of the City of Paris in 1938, BPU is a municipally-owned utility that provides electric, water and wastewater services to residents of Paris and Henry County as a means of promoting economic development and enhancing quality of life in the community. Serving over 21,000 homes and businesses, BPU strives to provide reliable, safe and affordable services to our community.