Rutherford County, TN - It was a Friday evening that started like any other—until around 6:25PM (9/19/2025), when a sudden glitch in the TVA high voltage power feed plunged thousands of Rutherford County residents into darkness. The outage, which hit the northern end of the county hardest, left roughly 14,000 Middle Tennessee Electric customers without power as lights flickered and then went dark.

Amy Byers, spokesperson for Middle Tennessee Electric, spoke with WGNS News and explained that the trouble began with the TVA feed to the Lascassas substation on Compton Road. That feed powers the Larry Kirk substation on North Thompson Lane, which serves Riverview, Riverbend, Breckenridge, Regency Park, and the stretch between Thompson Lane and Broad Street.

Byers noted that once the Larry Kirk substation—located beside Siegel High School—was brought back online at 6:48PM, the number of affected customers dropped dramatically to about 4,100. That quick recovery helped restore power to a large swath of homes and businesses, including traffic signals and street lights that had gone dark.

Crews discovered a downed TVA line near the Lascassas substation on East Jefferson Pike. Middle Tennessee Electric teams immediately began rerouting power to reconnect service. Their efforts paid off: by just before 8:00PM, electricity had been restored to all affected customers.

Byers offered a heartfelt thank you to the linemen and technicians working tirelessly at the Emergency Control Center. Their swift response turned what could’ve been a long night into a brief inconvenience. Hats off to the folks who keep the lights on—even when the grid throws a curveball.