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Neighbors Powering What Matters

Community Energy: the benefit Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation and TVA working together
Community Energy

Community Energy—In Our Region, Power Means More

Counties in Central Tennessee served by UCEMC are powered by a public power model—owned by and accountable to the people who live here. So the initiatives we invest in through our power model serve one purpose: helping our communities thrive.

Because we support public power, we all benefit from Community Energy. It’s the progress our model enables — like more job opportunities thanks to thriving and growing communities, outdoor recreation made possible by our protected lands, cleaner energy sources, and much more.

A Partnership of Service

UCEMC and TVA work together to power not just our homes and businesses, but our potential too — by combining efforts to help create a future we all believe in.

Working Together to Make Life in Our Community Better

Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation (UCEMC) and TVA were founded on a mission to serve — through reliable and affordable energy, a safe and protected environment and thriving economic development.

UCEMC provides electricity to 52,000 customers in Jackson, Overton, Putnam and Smith Counties, northern DeKalb County, and portions of Clay, Fentress, Macon, Pickett, White and Wilson Counties. UCEMC manages 4700 miles of transmission line.

Our energy has fueled progress in our region since 1933. See the ways it's helping shape our future.

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Resources for Your Home, Business and Life

Education

UCEMC and TVA work together to support community-wide learning about energy efficiency, meet STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) objectives and provide opportunities to develop skills that can prepare students for careers in technical fields.

TVA STEM Grants

Teachers in public schools that receive power from a TVA distributor can win STEM grants up to $5,000. In 2022 alone, TVA distributed $1 million, in partnership with TVA retiree organization Bicentennial Volunteers Incorporated and the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network. TVA gives preference to applications covering its primary areas of focus–environment, energy, economic development and community problem solving.

In 2021, Smith County Middle School (SCMS) received a $5,000 TVA STEM grant to purchase a model solar car for every student. Merryman says, “The students built the cars, and on the last day of school, they raced them; some kids even formed racing “teams.” SCMS Principal Kelly Bell says, “Children can learn some of life’s most important lessons while playing.”

Smith County Alternative School also received a TVA STEM grant in 2021. The funding helped provide resources for third graders to learn about ocean ecosystems, protection, and conservation.

TVA EnergyRight® School Uplift

Schools enrolled in TVA EnergyRight’s School Uplift program receive behavior-based strategic energy management (SEM) training that helps them integrate energy efficiency practices into their daily operations to save energy and money. Schools compete to win grants for infrastructure upgrades to reduce energy costs and improve the quality of the learning environment.

TVA EnergyRight Educational Workshops

Eye Spy Energy Kids’ Workshop

TVA EnergyRight and UCEMC partner to bring Spark, Bolt, Zap and their other EnergyRight Monster friends to elementary schools across the community, teaching students where energy comes from, how we use it and ways to save at home. Students can continue the energy-saving fun with their families using Eye Spy Energy Kits.

Energy Evolution High School Workshop

TVA EnergyRight and UCEMC are working together to offer engaging, interactive workshops that empower high school students to reduce their environmental impact and lead the next wave of our planet’s energy evolution.

Education

Recreation

TVA’s management of Tennessee Valley’s public lands and waterways provides many opportunities for residents and tourists in the Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation service area to participate in outdoor activities.

Reliability

Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation partners with TVA to provide safe, reliable, clean power to service area customers. TVA supplies community energy to 153 local power companies and about 60 large industrial customers and federal facilities at the lowest feasible cost. For more than 20 years, TVA’s transmission system has achieved a reliability rate of 99.999 percent.

More than half of the electricity generated by TVA is derived from carbon-free resources. TVA’s diverse energy portfolio includes coal, gas, nuclear and hydroelectric plants as well as renewables.

Transmission lines

Renewables

Investing in renewable energy sources — like solar and wind — helps keep our power clean and affordable. Upper Cumberland Electric Membership Corporation partners with TVA to offer various ways for our neighbors and businesses to join us in supporting renewable resource energy projects in the Tennessee Valley and promote a greener energy future.

Explore available resources from information that helps residents learn about solar options to programs that allow businesses to support renewable energy and operate more sustainably.

Renewables