CNN
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The NFL’s Tennessee Titans delayed their scheduled noon CT game by an hour due to temporary power outages in the region that resulting from the winter storm and brutal cold.
“Due to the extreme weather and power outages affecting our region, the start of today’s game has been delayed one hour to 1:00 p.m. CT,” the Titans said in a statement.
“This decision was made in partnership with the NFL, the Office of Emergency Management, Nashville Electric Service and City Hall with great care to ensure that the game does not negatively impact our community in any way.” We are exploring every opportunity to minimize non-essential power around the stadium.”
The Titans (7-7), who have lost four in a row, open their game against the Houston Texans (1-12-1) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville at 1:00 pm CT. The temperature was 22 degrees at kickoff, making it the coldest game in Nissan Stadium history, according to the CBS broadcast.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, the federal electric company that powers seven states in the region, ordered local utilities to reduce their power load for periods Friday and Saturday due to record high demand and weather-related power generation issues.
Chief Operating Officer Don Moll said the agency “lost some generation” due to the extreme cold and strong winds, and authorities urged residents to conserve electricity. Still, TVA said Saturday it delivered more power in the past 24 hours than at any other time in its history.
Authorities ended the ongoing power outages at noon Saturday after temperatures warmed slightly and power system conditions improved. TVA said.
“We recognize that these planned outages are a challenge, but they were necessary to maintain grid stability for 10 million people in seven states,” the authority said. “Thank you for doing your part to conserve energy and help us manage this extreme weather event.”
On Saturday morning, local power companies said they had been ordered to cut power for short bursts. CDE Lightband, an energy company from Clarksville, Tennessee, said TVA said so to cut the power at 15 minute intervals.
Similarly, on Electrical Service in Nashville told customers Saturday morning to expect “rotating, intermittent power outages” in increments of about 10 minutes every hour and a half to two hours.
Amid the shutdowns, Nashville Mayor John Cooper had called for the Titans to postpone their game, saying that “all non-essential businesses should reduce their energy use”. He issued a follow-up tweet saying he appreciated the decision to delay the game by an hour.
Cooper said he spoke to TVA leaders and the Tennessee Congress to organize a review of the state’s critical infrastructure.
“This review will also address the breakdowns in communications that I have discussed with TVA management. Yesterday (Nashville Electric Service) only received an 8 minute warning from TVA that permanent power outages were in place. The people of Nashville deserve better, and TVA agrees,” he said.
A TVA spokesman agreed, saying, “We will conduct a thorough review of our processes, procedures and preparations as we move beyond this unprecedented event.”
In general, extended cold spells can overload the power grid, simultaneously shutting down power and causing a spike in demand as residents turn up the heat. For example in Texas in February 2021A winter storm and extended cold spell caused widespread outages in areas served by the Texas Electric Reliability Board, leaving millions of residents in the cold and dark for nearly a week.
TVA informed residents Friday that there would be power outages due to the winter storm, though that directive was later lifted.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland told CNN on Friday that hospitals and medical offices were exempt. TVA did not foresee the extent of the situation before the storm, he said.
“It’s a real struggle. That’s never happened in my lifetime, that hasn’t happened in Memphis in at least 50 years,” Strickland said Friday.
On Saturday morning, he said the power outages in Memphis affected more than 50,000 people for about 30 to 60 minutes at a time, possibly two to three times a day.
“TVA has always prided itself on its reliability. This is the first time TVA has required permanent power outages,” Strickland told CNN. “We’re going to have to dig deeper into why this happened.”
Strickland said temperatures are not expected to rise above 32 degrees Fahrenheit for at least the next two days.
Outages and ongoing power outages affected much of the US, especially the Southeast.
As of 11 a.m. ET Saturday, Tennessee had about 250,000 customers without power and North Carolina had more than 380,000 without power, according to PowerOutage.US website. In Davidson County, Tennessee, which includes Nashville, more than 60 percent of customers were without power. says the site.
Duke Energy, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based electric utility, on Saturday morning announced “emergency outages” as extremely cold temperatures lead to unusually high power demand in the Carolinas.
“We have started short, temporary power outages. These emergency outages are necessary to protect the power grid against longer, more widespread outages. We appreciate your patience,” the the energy supplier said in a tweet.
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