EPB expanding services by adding new operations center

EPB is working to better serve their customers who live near Hamilton Place and further east of Chattanooga.

By the end of the year 2022, EPB will begin the groundbreaking on a new Operations Center in the Enterprise South Industrial Park that is home to Amazon and Volkswagen.

This expansion will allow EPB to better serve East Brainerd, Ooltewah, Harrison, Collegedale, and several other communities in the Chattanooga area.

“If we have either an electric or fiber trouble call in the middle of the night - most of our trucks are going to be coming from this spot and a lot of that drive is 25 or 30 minutes to get up that way. If we got someone already there, that cuts that drive down to maybe five or 10 minutes," Hutcherson said.

EPB currently has two operations centers, one near downtown and the other in Soddy Daisy.

Bobby Hutcherson, Assistant Vice President of Technical Operations for EPB, said once the new operation center officially opens, about 20% of their current staff will relocate there.

Once business starts to pick up, future job opportunities will become available.

“Our jobs are really based on the community and how much growth in the community happens and our fiber business growth. Intentionally, it is getting the people to the work, but it also has some area for growth in the future,” Hutcherson said.

Hutcherson said the land for the building was purchased in 2020, but the pandemic and high material prices bought the process to a halt.

“In that time, we got ready to do a design-build process. We put that out for bid and we got back exceptional designs. They range from 16 million dollars up to 28 million dollars. We ended up choosing Robert Robert's and River Street Architecture,” Hutcherson said.

Once the groundbreaking of the building starts by the end of 2022, it is expected to be up and running in 16 to 18 months.

“Our Operation Center does have our electric trouble shooters, our fiber techs, so basically our trucks, the poles, and equipment to get the work down is what will be at this facility,” Hutcherson said.