Ice drives outages as DREMC crews respond

4:22 p.m. Jan. 25, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Duck River Electric Membership Corporation crews are working to restore power after Winter Storm Fern caused widespread outages and major damage across southern Middle Tennessee due to heavy ice.

At 3:40 p.m., 6,728 DREMC members were without power. Duck River Electric said in a news release. Maury County is the hardest hit, with about 5,100 outages in Mt. Pleasant, Williamsport, Santa Fe, Culleoka, and nearby areas.

The buildup of ice is making it harder and more dangerous for crews to restore power.

“Restoring power has been a very slow process today,” said Steven Hopkins, DREMC director of operations for the Columbia district. “There’s extensive damage in Maury County, and ongoing ice is continuing to break trees and limbs — knocking out power we’ve already restored and creating hazardous conditions for crews and other emergency personnel.”

Hopkins said crews have been working all day, but the conditions are still tough.

“Everyone wants to know when power will be restored, but conditions remain challenging, and we do not expect significant progress [Sunday],” he said. “Engineers and field personnel continue assessing damage as roads are cleared to allow access for trucks and equipment.”

DREMC reports that most outages are caused by trees outside their right-of-way falling onto power lines and poles because of the ice. Crews are finding leaning and broken poles, downed lines, and large limbs, and sometimes whole trees, on the wires. With freezing temperatures and strong winds, damage is still happening, and conditions are still dangerous.

Office operations will be affected too. Because of Winter Storm Fern and the state of emergency declared by Gov. Bill Lee, all DREMC offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 26. This closure matches other school and government office closures in the area.

Even though offices are closed, DREMC member service representatives will still be available by phone and email. Restoration work will keep going, with crews, contractors, and field staff working to restore power safely and efficiently.

“Our crews are restoring power in a deliberate order, starting with critical infrastructure and the main lines that serve the most members,” said James Wright, DREMC President and CEO. “We can’t restore individual locations until those larger pieces of the system are repaired.”

DREMC uses a standard process to restore power to as many members as quickly as possible. They first fix safety hazards and downed lines, then work on transmission lines, substations, main feeder lines, critical places like hospitals and emergency services, and finally neighborhoods and individual homes.

Safety is still the top priority as crews and residents deal with icy conditions.

Members are urged to stay far away from downed power lines and to assume every line is energized. Any damage to the system should be reported immediately to DREMC at (931) 684-4621, along with an address or clear location description.

“Weather conditions can make downed lines harder to recognize,” said Brad Vincent, DREMC safety coordinator. “After storms like this, power lines can be hidden by ice, debris, or snow. The safest assumption is that every downed line is live – stay back and report it right away.”

Vincent also cautioned members using generators during extended outages to take proper precautions. Improper generator use can pose life-threatening risks to homeowners and lineworkers alike.

“DREMC doesn’t recommend connecting a generator directly to a home’s electrical system, but during long outages, some people may choose to do so,” Vincent said. “If that’s the case, please make sure your main breaker is turned off. Back-feeding power onto the lines will put our crews in serious danger.”

Always use generators outside, away from windows and vents, to prevent carbon monoxide from building up.

DREMC will keep sharing updates as they restore power. Members can track outages in real time at dremc.com/map, find Winter Storm Fern resources at dremc.com/storm, and follow Duck River Electric on Facebook for more updates.