Spring is a great time of year. For some, spring is the perfect season. Temperate weather has broken the icy grip of winter and we are all ready to enjoy the outdoors. Here are some things to keep in mind though.

Longer daylight hours and daylight savings time, in many locations, means more time to play, hobby or work. Along with this comes less time to rest and sleep. Fatigue is sure to set in and could make operating vehicles or other powered equipment hazardous. Be sure to get adequate rest along with your relaxation.

Along with longer daylight hours, more time outside, less clothing, and more direct sun rays comes the potential for sunburn. Most skin has been hidden during the winter and ...

Utility line work is in the top ten of the most dangerous jobs in America. Working at great heights with high-voltage electrical lines obviously presents its own set of dangers, but oncoming traffic and not being visible on the job site poses a significant safety risk.

There is a real need to protect people who work in areas that make it difficult to be seen. High visibility clothing is a critical component of workplace safety for crews working on electric utility projects and other construction projects. The more visible a worker is, the less risk a serious accident will take place. There is a wide range of brand names selling high visibility safety gear that includes: coveralls, vests, jac...

In October 2018 TVA implemented a Wholesale Rate Change which introduced a new rate component on the wholesale invoice known as the Grid Access Charge (GAC). The GAC is a fixed dollar amount based on a 5-year historical average of standard service kWh purchases from TVA. The purpose of the GAC was for TVA to start collecting some of their fixed costs through a fixed rate component rather than the traditional volumetric demand and energy rates. In addition to the GAC, TVA lowered their wholesale onpeak and offpeak energy rates to make the Rate Change revenue neutral.

Prior to the Wholesale Rate Change going into effect, TVA gave each Local Power Company (LPC) the option to implement the GAC i...

PCA has a long-standing history of giving back to the community. In addition to allowing our employees the opportunity to serve individually on boards and committees of professional societies and other non-profits, the company also sponsors a Social Responsibility Committee. This committee is dedicated to making a difference in the community through donations, and service activities involving PCA employees.

A look back at 2018

In 2018, PCA employees participated in a variety of service activities, including preparation of Food Packs, a coat drive, a day of service at the Salvation Army Angel Tree Warehouse, and provided a scholarship to a local Civil Engineering student. For the Food Packs, ...

May this Christmas season bring you closer to all those you treasure in your heart.

As families come together and the excitement builds, be cautious and safe with electricity. This is the time of year when most household accidents and fires occur.

The Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is once again encouraging homeowners to give the gift of safety to friends and family by creating a hazard-free environment for the holidays. These tips provided by the ESFI will safeguard your home, property, and workplace from accidents.

1. Keep decorations at least three feet away from heat sources – especially those with an open flame, like fireplaces and candles. And remember to blow ou...

A Short Recap from the 2018 TECA Annual Meeting...

One of the hottest topics in the electric cooperative industry at this time is broadband access and connectivity. Historically, electric cooperatives were not able to provide broadband service to their members. That all change with the passing of the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act in 2017. Now, electric cooperatives can provide this service to their members if they choose to do so.

At the TECA annual meeting, a panel of three board members from different electric cooperatives spoke about their experience with providing broadband access to their members. They all explained the “why” portion of providing this service in the s...

The American Council of Engineering Companies of Tennessee (ACEC Tennessee) recently recognized our engineering design team for outstanding performance by awarding PCA the 2018 Engineering Excellence Grand Award in the energy category at their 50^th Anniversary Gala.

The award, received by David Grooms, Monica Sartain, and Branden Cadavid, was presented for the team’s work in providing civil engineering design services for Entergy’s Vicksburg 115 kV Improvement Project. The project, which crosses Warren and Hinds Counties in Mississippi, was a 29 mile transmission line design build completed in 4 phases. The line design included significant challenges in each phase: crossing of ...

Like John Haskin once said, “give a little love to a child, and you get a great deal back.” This is a powerful phrase, and our team understands how moving it is. An overall sense of wellbeing is felt when you become a giver of time and resources while giving back to society, especially to children.

When the children at our neighboring Metro Nashville Berry Hill Head start program leave school for one of their many breaks, we try and alleviate some of their worries on figuring out how they will get their next meal. Our concept is simple, but extremely rewarding. For the last few years, we have provided each student with a food pack that is child-friendly, nutritious, and easy to e...

Companies looking to bolster their safety culture should look no further than the grounding methods they currently employ. Those determined to take their grounding process to the next level should consider Equipotential Grounding training.

Many contract companies are currently implementing bracket grounding, which means they install grounds on both sides of the work area sometimes some distance apart. Equipotential grounding methods encourage crews to move to single point/worksite grounding, which involves installing one set of grounds equipotentially at the worksite to create an equipotential zone for working. This has been recognized by OSHA and the industry as the method that provides the...

What is the total cost of running an electric utility? How much does each customer class contribute to that cost? Do the current rates and rate structure recover that cost appropriately? Do class subsidies exist within the current structure? These are some of the questions that can be answered by performing a distribution cost of service study.

The purpose of a distribution cost of service study is to ultimately determine the equitable portion of an electric utility’s distribution costs to allocate to each customer class. It will assign the total distribution cost to each class based on a series of factors such as contribution to peak and number of customers. Once this allocation is det...