Tennessee public power utility Nashville Electric System recently teamed up with Tennessee State University, the Tennessee Valley Authority and other organizations to host a virtual simulation of Nashville’s March 2020 tornado.
The exercise aimed to enhance Nashville, Tennessee’s preparedness measures ahead of natural disasters that could occur in the near future.
In March 2020, a tornado hit Nashville that caused widespread devastation, leaving more than 61,000 NES customers in the dark and more than 800 damaged light poles.
The simulation was a part of the Electric Power Research Institute’s ARCHER program, or Accelerating Resilience of the Community through Holistic Engagement and use of Renewables, and was held on TSU’s campus.
The virtual simulation of the 2020 Nashville tornado aimed to understand how innovative microgrid systems and self-contained electrical systems with defined geographic service areas can safeguard critical systems.
The event kicked off with a presentation about the purpose of the simulation and what participating organizations hoped to achieve. After the simulation occurred, participants connected over lunch to debrief and discuss what they learned.
“NES realizes integrating distributed energy resources like microgrids, including solar PV, is crucial for enhancing the reliability and resilience of our grid,” sais Tony Richman, Engineering Manager-Grid Transformation, with NES. “Initiatives like ARCHER that involve our customers firsthand, help NES prepare for unforeseen disruptions and strengthen relationships in the communities we serve.”
Georgia Caruthers, a Senior Project Manager at TVA, said, “We are proud to collaborate with TSU and others on the ARCHER project, as it highlights TVA’s mission to the 10 million people we serve to continuously work to make our systems more resilient—especially during times of severe weather.”
