Paris, Tenn.–With the announcement that there now are zero customers without power, Paris BPU officials said Tuesday afternoon, “Today we are smiling. Now for some rest…”
CEO Terry Wimberley said, “We started with 17,000 customers out, over 70 broken poles, and dozens of lines down on Friday morning. Four days 100 hours later, WE DID IT. Many customers have shared their appreciation and been so gracious toward us. Thank you for that. Many of you have dropped off food and snacks and offered to take care of our people. Your thoughtfulness is amazing. What a community!”
Wimberley thanked the local power company friends who helped since Friday: Covington Electric System, Murray Electric System, Bolivar Energy Authority, Weakley County Municipal Electric System, Lexington Electric System, and Brownsville Energy Authority…your crews ROCKED IT. We will repay the favor one day.
“Thank you to OneSource Restoration for providing us with contractor crews. To the local food vendors who worked with us to feed the workers, thank you for your support. Old West Steakhouse- Paris, Perry’s BBQ & Catering, Domino’s, Papa Johns, McDonald’s, Casey’s General Store, Trolinger’s Inc., LL’S BAR & GRILL, Southside Cafe, Best Donuts Paris TN, and Patriot Express Mart #2 – Truck Stop…we asked SO MUCH of you and often on short notice. You came through. We thank all of you.”
Wimberley said, “And finally…to the men and women of Paris BPU, you were INCREDIBLE. You were faced with one of the largest outage events in many years. Our line crews were EXCELLENT and SAFE. Support was provided by water and wastewater, meter and engineering, customer support, accounting, and our communications staff. The ENTIRE utility contributed to a successful effort. We are PROUD to serve this community! Today we are smiling. Now for some rest…”
Photo from Terry Wimberley.