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Frequently Asked Questions
Listed below are some of the questions our member-owners frequently ask. Should you have any further questions, please consult our Contact Us page.
An electric cooperative is a form of utility owned by and operated for the benefit of the people who use its service. Electric cooperatives were first organized in Mississippi during the 1930s to provide electricity to rural areas. These areas were not profitable, so the “for-profit” electric companies would not provide power to them.
At TVEPA, there is always someone on duty to answer the phone. If your power is off after 5:00 P.M. and before 8:00 A.M. you may call 662-561-2880. This is the after hours duty phone number for emergency calls. During business hours or during a major power outage, call the normal business number 662-563-4742.
TVEPA currently provides power to more than 27,000 meters. If there is a major power outage, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of members trying to report the outage. Tallahatchie Valley encourages you to report an outage, but asks that you have patience if the phone line is busy. Someone is always available to answer the phone, but frequently there are many more calls than we have phone lines. In these cases, you get a busy signal. The busy signal is your assurance that someone is on the job. Tallahatchie Valley has many obstacles to overcome in order to provide you with a reliable source of electricity. One of the main obstacles to keeping your power on is so common that we rarely give it a thought. Trees and vegetation are one of the main threats to a reliable source of electricity in your home. Trees grow at an alarming rate and their branches dangle over power lines just waiting for a big wind, tornado or a little ice to let the branches drop onto the line and disturb your power supply, and if it comes crashing down on the power line, it can cause an outage to just your home or to an entire neighborhood. The next time you see a crew cutting right-of-way in your area, know that they are working as hard as they can to insure that you have reliable electric service. That’s just part of the service that we perform for you.
Electricity is measured in units of power called watts, named for James Watts, inventor of the steam engine. A kilowatt represents 1,000 watts. The amount of electricity a person uses over a period of times is measured in kilowatt-hours. To determine the number of kilowatt-hours an appliance uses, multiply the number of watts it requires times the number of hours it is used. For example, a 100 watt light bulb used for 10 hours uses 1 kilowatt hour(100 watts x 10 hours = 1 kilowatt). At our current rates, 1 kilowatt hour costs around $.08.
TVEPA to whom you pay your power bill does not generate electricity. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) generates electricity and then sells it to Tallahatchie Valley EPA. In order to generate electricity TVA uses several sources. Nuclear, coal, gas and water are some of the fuels used to generate electricity. In addition, in times of great demand, TVA must purchase power from outside sources. The FCA (fuel cost adjustment) shown on your bill is a charge that the Tennessee Valley Authority passes along to its distributors of electricity such as Tallahatchie Valley Electric Power Association. The unstable costs for coal, gas and purchased power make it imperative for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to have a way to adjust rates up and down to account for the volatile price of fuels used to make electricity. In July, 2006, the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors determined that the easiest way to keep rates at the lowest possible level would be to institute a fuel cost adjustment, which is a charge paid over and above the regular rate per kilowatt hour. The rate that members of Tallahatchie Valley EPA pay is determined in part by the rate that TVEPA must pay to TVA for the power purchased. The fuel cost adjustment is a portion of the rate that is tied directly to TVA and not Tallahatchie Valley EPA. The fuel cost adjustment is not a fee to recover the cost of fuel for TVEPA trucks.
Yes, we are prepared for any emergency, large or small. TVEPA has no control over the weather, we do however have a restoration plan for unexpected weather events. If the power is off to just a few houses, the serviceman can go directly to that area and begin restoring the power at once. If, however, the trouble is from a tornado, ice storm or some other event, the plan is quite different. During a major outage, the power is often off at the substation and that is the area that must be repaired first. The substation must be energized to provide power to your home. If the substation is not on, it does no good to work on a line at the end of a road because even if you cleared the trouble on the line, there is still no power because the substation must be energized first. After the substation is repaired, work is begun on the 3-phase lines leaving the substation; next are the single phase lines going down the road, and then the service going to your home.
Special equipment is installed on each main line that helps keep the power from going off permanently because of a small problem, such as a squirrel or limb on the line. The “special equipment” is designed to cut the power off momentarily, but not permanently. The momentary blink allows the fault to leave the line and the power to be restored if there is no serious fault. The equipment is designed to operate three times in order to give the fault an opportunity to leave the line. If the fault does not leave the line, the power goes off permanently. At that point, a service person is dispatched to the trouble site to remove the permanent fault. After the fault has been removed, the power can be turned on again.
Tallahatchie Valley makes an effort to read every meter every month; however, sometimes there are obstacles that our meter readers cannot overcome. When someone locks the gate to their backyard, they are in effect locking out the meter readers. If your gate is locked, please be sure that it is open around the time that the meter reader will come by. Another obstacle that can cause a meter to be estimated is a vicious dog. While your dog may seem friendly and playful to you, it may not be so friendly and playful to a stranger. The dog is simply guarding his “home”, and in doing so, he prevents the meter reader from doing his job. Please secure your dog in a location away from the meter when it is time for the meter reader’s visit. If the meter reader is unable to get to the meter for any reason, the amount of electricity used is estimated in the office. The estimate is made using data from previous years at this same location. Anytime an estimate has to be made, the bill is adjusted up or down as soon as an actual reading can be obtained. |
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