Inclement weather and the downed trees that followed have caused widespread power outages throughout Volunteer Energy Cooperative's service area. An estimated 35,000 customers were without power as of 10:15 a.m.
The highest concentration of outages is in Cumberland County with 18,129 affected. Fentress County, Putnam County, White County, Overton County and Bledsoe County also have high rates of outages.
Full restoration of power will take several days, VEC said.
"With so many trees down and the icy road conditions, it is slow going in some areas," VEC Vice President of Operations Clyde Jolley said. "But our crews will be working non-stop until power is restored to all VEC customers. We apologize for the inconveniences."
To report an outage, call your local VEC office and follow the prompts given. Customers will need the account number and phone number associated with that account. Smart phone users can use the VEC SmartHub app and click on "Service Status" to report outages as well. Customers can also report outages on the VEC website from the VE-Bill account.
VEC asks that outages not be reported via email or social media accounts as those accounts are monitored less frequently.