The following is a transcript of the June 22, 2026, episode of Public Power Now. Learn more about subscribing to Public Power Now at PublicPower.org/Podcasts. Some quotes may have been edited for clarity.
Paul Ciampoli
Welcome to the latest episode of Public Power Now.
I'm Paul Ciampoli, APPA's News Director. Our guest on this episode is Jeff Dykes, CEO of Tennessee public power utility BrightRidge.
Jeff, thanks for joining us on the podcast.
Jeff Dykes
Paul, I really appreciate it. Thank you for having me and really looking forward and excited to talk to you today.
Paul Ciampoli
I wanted to start with some recent news that we actually covered in our newsletter involving BrightRidge.
Specifically, in May, as you know, Seven States Power Corporation announced it will deliver a significant infrastructure investment to modernize the electric grid in partnership with BrightRidge.
The initiative will deploy 20 megawatts of battery storage as a standalone resource, designed to offset peak demand, improve grid resiliency, and provide BrightRidge with greater operational flexibility.
So can you provide additional details on this initiative? And also, how will BrightRidge and its customers benefit?
Jeff Dykes
Just a little bit of background about Seven States. Seven States is a G&T cooperative that is owned by all 153 power companies that are served by TVA.
Seven States received this multi-million dollar federal grant through USDA, and it's really designed to support grid resilience and adding battery storage to the valley.
For BrightRidge, Seven States projects are going to give us a really important tool, we believe, to help us to do additional things, managing our peak, supporting resiliency on our system and give us some flexibility in our operations day to day.
And you know the goal is simple. We're taking purchased power that we are storing in these batteries during the off peak times. We will take that and charge them up.
And then we'll disperse that during the day, whether it be wintertime, it'd be in the early mornings when our peaks hit, or in the hot afternoons of the summer, we'll discharge it. And really, that helps us to save some significant cost.
Because, as everyone knows, during the peak capacity needs, that's when you pay a higher price because of those, so it really gives us the opportunity to impact our customers.
Demands growing, and weather events are even more challenging than they used to be.
Customers still expect that same reliability and same low cost, so I really believe that as we move, and as all companies move forward, battery storage is going to be considered really a basic part of the utility infrastructure.
Because it allows a utility like us, or anyone across the nation, to really have that ability to discharge stored power as the peak and demand on the system grows during the day, and it really helps us to lower costs.
Now, it'll never replace generation or transmission and the traditional investments that are put into that, but it will become a part of the tools that we use every day to manage our demand, improve our reliability and reduce customer exposure. And I'm just talking about the peak usage for it right now.
But there's so many other things that battery storage will do for our system and others. Whether you have areas of low voltage becomes an issue on some large lines that are very rural. That allows you during the course of the day, as those demands come up a little, or voltage usage is starting to drop, you can discharge your battery storage and really bring those voltage areas back up.
So there's so many things battery storage can do for a utility...and it's all about serving our customer. What can we do to better serve our customers, and be more reliable, and keep our costs low?
Paul Ciampoli
I wanted to switch gears and talk about renewable energy with you.
As I was preparing for this interview, one of the things that jumped out at me is the fact that through a partnership with Nashville, Tennessee-based Silicon Ranch, BrightRidge is going to brign 12 megawatts of utility scale solar online this year.
So can you tell our listeners more about this project?
Jeff Dykes
This is one that we're really excited about. As a matter of fact, the facility just came on -- all 12 megawatts this past week, and this is our fourth project with Silicon Ranch.
We have other solar farms on our system, and some others that we'll be participating with several other utilities that are off of our system, but that will be credited to us here.
And the solar farm at Gray, it's owned and operated by Silicon Ranch, and then we purchase the production of that facility. And that contract...that's a 30-year contract that's a fixed cost.
So every time there's a rate increase from our other generator through TVA, our price is locked in there. So just the estimate based on current rate cost, this project is expected to save a million dollars a year for our BrightRidge customers, and that savings will only go up over the course of those 30 years, as rate increases might impact our other purchase power from TVA.
So it's a huge impact for our customers. And like, say, that $1 million a year is just on the existing gray farm that is coming online. The other ones that we have already online -- We are estimating that that we will save probably 2 million dollars a year off of current pricing over the next 30 years.
So local generation will never replace our wholesale power that we get from TVA. We still have the primary supplier from them, which is 95% of our purchase power.
But when flexibility came into play with TVA that allowed us to purchase or build our own power like solar and other things, it really allowed us to have those partnerships that can have an impact long term for our customers, as most utilities are always looking to save costs, and also participate in renewables and everything.
It really has had a great impact, and we're really looking forward to those opportunities to have our customers see that and also gives our customers the opportunity and our high schools to see what jobs and what the changes in the industry are, so that they can look at that.
But it's another tool that we can put in our portfolio to build our system, stability and prepares for the future. And so we really have enjoyed also the partnership with Silicon Ranch.
They're a quality group of people, and a really strong company that has been very successful, and they have really become a great partner with us.
Paul Ciampoli
I noticed that they have a lot of projects in your part of the country, so I'd imagine that level of familiarity with the region helps out a lot in terms of project development.
Jeff Dykes
It really does. And when we talk renewables, one of the things that often people talk about solar farms and the building -- one of the very interesting things, and I think Silicon Ranch is one that really promotes not only the renewable generation from their solar panels, but also the environmental impacts.
And one of the highlights with the farms that are there is the use of sheep instead of bringing in mechanical equipment and mowers and stuff like that to keep the land in good condition.
They bring in sheep, and people are really excited to, especially kids, to go by and see those, and by going by and seeing those sheep they also get a chance to look at the solar farm and learn more about how we generate power to serve them.
Paul Ciampoli
In terms of preparation for the interview, one of the things that really jumped out at me early on in that process was the fact that BrightRidge Broadband has been really successful. And as you know, that launched in 2019.
So can you provide additional details on how BrightRidge Broadband has brought benefits to BrightRidge customers?
Jeff Dykes
I can say I have a great staff and great people working here, and then also an exceptional board that has supported everything that we have brought before them to help the community.
And the broadband part was, again, another one of those avenues that we looked at and said, okay, if we can bring high-speed fiber to the premises because broadband is becoming more and more a core part of the community infrastructure just like the electric is.
So when that launched, we really saw a need to help economic development to help remote work because through that we started in 2019 and then rolled right into the COVID and had a lot of remote work and we have an amazing customer base.
You would think launching in 2019 and about a year later when COVID hit, you'd think that's the worst time to launch. I can't thank our community enough, even in COVID. Of course, we had put on the proper protective equipment.
But our community embraced this high speed fiber and actually had us coming in to hook them up so they could get access to this gig, even 10 gig speeds.
So when that started growing, we saw that it one, you know, it's really a competitive advantage for us because we're the first in the nation to launch with 10 gig service right away. We were the 6th in the nation to have a 10 gig service...and we passed already 73% of the people on our system, whether you're in Johnson City or Jonesboro, Washington County, Colonial Heights in Sullivan County and Piney Flats, and even over in Carter County.
We already passed 73% of our customers with our long term goal of reaching a hundred percent, no matter how far or how hard it is to get to them.
We will keep growing until we've reached them all, and we, like many, have seen a large amount of people moving to our area, and the broadband services that we provide matched anything anywhere in the country, and but actually very few have that 10 gig and larger. We can provide more.
We've had several professional gamers that have specifically moved to here because of the speed and the symmetrical service that we offer. We had one that moved all the way here from Canada. It's a professional gamer.
And so it's exciting to see that. But it's also exciting to see our communities like Johnson City and those in Jonesboro, who have been listed as having the fastest Internet speeds in the nation and listed in magazines as a great place to move to.
BrightRidge's role is not just the electric, broadband. What can we do to better our community? And this was just another one that allowed us to do that, you know whether it was working from home or, you know, impacting our school systems by that, whether it's healthcare with the remote access to doctors through the Internet, shopping and other services at home.
But a lot of folks that even have businesses that require where they work remotely, that needed that connectivity in this new data-driven economy.
We even have doctors that can transfer large amounts of data that if something occurs in the hospital, from their home, they can have this data remotely sent to them, and then uplink it back because of the large 10 gig possibilities of serving them.
So it's really had a huge impact for our community, just like our electric did back in, you know, in the early days, when electric had a huge impact and just changed regions for the good broadband is doing the same.
Paul Ciampoli
It sounds like it's fair to say this is really going to be like a legacy line of service, you know, 30, 40 years from now, people will be able to look back on this and see how all the benefits flowed from this.
Jeff Dykes
Oh, I think they really will.
The board that was here that approved when we brought that to them to go into business. I think that they will be able to look back, as you say, 20, 30 years from now, and say, you know, we had the opportunity to have an impact on our community that is there, still growing, and has really transformed the region.
Paul Ciampoli
I just wanted to switch topics here as for my last topic and specifically talk about reliability.
And as you know, APPA has recognized BrightRidge for maintaining high levels of reliability.
So could you detail the steps the utility has taken to achieve a strong reliability track record?
Jeff Dykes
We're a proud holder of APPA’s RP3 designation -- been at the platinum level since 2015, and actually, right now, it's that time for us get recertified, so our staff and folks here are working on all the data and information that gets submitted.
And the great thing with the RP3 -- It's not just the fact that you receive an award, because in reality getting the award is the minor part of it, because it really reflects that the daily work that our employees are doing that our customers don't always see.
But by having that designation it recognizes for that -- whether it's system surveillance on watching how our system operates, whether it's maintenance -- so much goes into it.
Vegetation management, the modernization of our grid, the safety aspects with our employees, and how great and safely they work, and then also the financial management of the company, which is our financial folks work so hard to make sure we're doing well, and our employees want us to be successful.
And then a board that does an amazing fiduciary responsibility of overseeing that. But that preparation really shows up when systems are tested.
And I think that's one that we saw where the RP3 award was proved out that we did do all the right things to meet the requirements for that award.
When Hurricane Helene hit us in 2024, a lot of the national headlines were coming out of Asheville and Western North Carolina, and a lot of people did not see or realize how East Tennessee and the mountains here, just across North Carolina, were hit very hard, too.
I know here in Washington County -- that is a part of our system. BrightRidge got hit significantly hard, just like in North Carolina. Of the 88,000 customers, We had a third of our system that went completely dark and we lost multiple river crossings going across the river to our southern system and our BrightRidge folks in Pike Electric, which is an electrical contractor that works here supporting our in-house linemen and crews -- they restored service to that entire system on that end of the county...recrossing rivers, we had to build completely new lines and new structures, and they restored that in just 7 days, and I say that very proudly of what our folks did, because they did that. They did it safely, and they restored to everyone that could still take power.
The only ones who didn't get restored were those that had significant damage that had to be taken care of before they could restore power to their home.
There were folks that lost homes, and it was a really sad time for our community. That response -- we did four major river crossings, replacing the poles and thousands of feet of conductor that had just been washed away.
And so that area was really one that our preparation that is a part of that RP3 process.
The preparation our folks had had, the reliability practices that we'd always followed, and the disciplined system investment.
I mean our folks -- because of that significant investment, we're able to restore much quicker than maybe we realized we could. When you saw the devastation, you really felt for the folks there, because these were neighbors, these were friends, and you wanted to get it back as fast as possible, and I cannot compliment our folks enough for all that they did.
And that's what reliability really is. It's real life situations. And it's not a report, a numbers in a report. It's really being there when customers need you most, and I would be remiss if I didn't also put a word in for the resiliency of our community.
You know, Tennessee's called the Volunteer State. We're very proud of that. But there's a reason for it. Before any of the public services could even respond to that area -- and some couldn't even cross because there were bridges that were wiped out -- the neighbors on the scene did so much to help their other neighbors as they helped themselves.
And it was just remarkable how that community came together to help one another, and how that community came together as our folks were down there working hard doing things to help our folks while they were there, and it was just a remarkable thing to see one that made me very proud to live here in this community and being from this community.
But it also gives you a sense of great pride to be able to say we reached out and helped our neighbors. We helped our customers, and it's one that I know every utility across the nation takes great pride in the fact that they're a local power company, and it's all about customer service and doing what's right for your community.
Paul Ciampoli
I couldn't agree with you more. And I think that's a great way to wrap up this conversation, Jeff.
So thanks for taking time again to speak with us today and telling us all about BrightRidge and its accomplishments.
Jeff Dykes
I really appreciate the opportunity.
Like I said, I love talking about our folks, the people that work here, because we have an exceptional group of employees, group of friends and family and it’s always great to talk about our region, and I really appreciate you giving me that opportunity to speak about our community and look forward to maybe sometime if you're down this way, be glad to take you around and show you some of the great areas that we have here.
Paul Ciampoli
Definitely. I'll take you up on that opportunity.
Jeff Dykes
Well, thank you so much for your time today, Paul.
Paul Ciampoli
Sure thing. And just one more thing. As with all my guests, we have an open door in terms of your returning as a guest at some point in the future.
Jeff Dykes
I would love it just anytime. The opportunity would be again an honor for me, and the bigger honor is to be able to say that I represent amazing community. So anytime. Just give me a call and be glad to join you.
Paul Ciampoli
Thanks for listening to this episode of Public Power Now, which was produced by Julio Guerrero, graphic and digital designer at APPA.
I'm Paul Ciampoli, and we'll be back with more from the world of public power next week.
