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Press Release

22 April 2020 · 4 min. read

EPB completes power restoration for 60,000 customers - Repairs to fiber optic services to continue through weekend

Chattanooga, TN (April 22, 2020; 8:00 a.m.) – EPB confirmed that it has completed the reconstruction of the utility poles, electric lines, and power system equipment that sustained catastrophic damage when tornados and severe weather ripped through Chattanooga last Sunday causing power outages for about 60,000 customers.

“We’ve re-energized all of the power lines necessary to complete the restoration and the smart grid is operating within normal parameters, but we haven’t yet replaced the smart grid equipment in many areas, so there may be some house-to-house outages that aren’t apparent to us.” said Scottie Summerlin, EPB public relations coordinator. “If anyone is still experiencing a power outage from last week’s storm, please call EPB to let us know at (423) 648-1372.”

Summerlin also highlighted EPB’s continuing effort to restore fiber optic services. “We know connectivity is a top priority especially now,” Summerlin said. “The re-construction effort is a layering process. Electric crews must replace utility poles and restore electricity before fiber optic repairs can be made. We’ve had fiber crews coming in as soon as electric crews complete their work.”

EPB has engaged hundreds of additional fiber installers in the effort to repair internet and other fiber optic services as quickly as possible. Their current focus is re-splicing the main feeder fiber cables which will restore service to thousands of additional customers over the next two days. Once this is done, EPB will work on repairing the smaller distribution fiber lines to bring remaining customers back on-line.

EPB expects to restore fiber optic services to most customers by Friday, but restoration efforts will likely extend through the weekend.

Road Closure Information

As restoration continues please be on the lookout for periodic road closures. These closures are announced by Chattanooga Police Department on Facebook, Twitter, and other news media outlets. Follow the Chattanooga Police Department for up to date information. #roadclosures #CHAPD #PowerRestore

EPB Quick Connect WiFi available to public

For people who need internet access, EPB has installed free EPB Quick Connect WiFi hotspots at 25 locations around the county. Those locations can be found at epbquickconnect.com.

Need EPB Customer Support?

Customers with questions are encouraged to go to EPB.com for the latest information including an outage map. Customer service representatives are also available by phone 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 423-648-1372.

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Frequently asked questions – myEPB App

Can I use the myEPB app to report a fiber outage? 

Please do not use the myEPB app to report a fiber outage. It only works with electric issues. Reporting fiber issues with the app may actually cause delays because it may cause us to send the wrong kind of crew. Fiber issues may be reported using the chat functionality on the lower right hand corner of this web page or by calling (423) 648-1372.

Why won’t the app let me log in?

This may result from a few issues:

  1. Are you trying to log in to a business account? If so, the myEPB app will not allow you to log in. Unfortunately, the myEPB app only works with residential electric accounts at this time.
  2. Are you using a username that is linked to your electric account? The myEPB app will not allow login with username for EPB Fiber Optics that is not linked to the electric account. If a landlord or someone in your household other than yourself set up the electric bill, you may need to ask them for the username in order to log in to the account.

Why does the app say my power is restored, but it’s not? 

Because the storm was so catastrophic, it disrupted some of the fiber optic lines and equipment the app relies on to provide individualized information about the power status at your home. In addition, there may be multiple points of repair that need to be done between the power source and your home. In some cases, these problems will cause a false restoration reading when one layer of repair is completed but others are still necessary.

If you are experiencing this issue, try using the “Report an Outage” feature in the myEPB app to notify us of the need to identify the additional repairs necessary to restore your home.

Why does the app say the estimate time of repair (ETR) is the time that I logged on? 

If the estimated time of repair is showing as the current date and time or other information that is clearly inaccurate, this probably means that we’re in the process of updating the ETR. Please check back later. 

My estimated time of repair shows April 21. Is that accurate? 

Until a repair is scheduled for you, the app may show April 21 as the worst-case scenario, but most people will have their power restored much sooner. Once a crew is scheduled to resolve the issue causing your outage, the app will show an updated and more accurate estimated time of repair.

Having other issues? Let us know.

If you are experiencing any other issues that are not listed above, please contact one of our customer service representatives at 423-648-1372 or chat with us online so we can better serve you.

Thank you for helping us gather the information we need to continue troubleshooting any problems that arise with the app.

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