Athens Utilities Board

Athens Utilities Board is the full-service utilities organization for some 13,000 customers in the City of Athens, Tennessee, and surrounding McMinn County. For residential and commercial/industrial customers, we provide not only electric power, but also natural gas, water, and wastewater services at some of the best rates in the region or country.

Reporting a Power Outage

In the power business, outages happen. 745-3131. Trees hit lines. 745-3131. Automobiles hit utilities poles. 745-3131.High winds whip lines together, tripping breakers and putting you in the dark. ;745-3131.

If your home or business goes dark due to a power failure, the number to call, 24-hours a day, is 745-3131. A call to this number will result in the most efficient response and the quickest troubleshooting out in the field.

When you call 745-3131 you’ll be connected with our automated trouble call system. PLEASE DON’T HANG UP. Follow the prompts. If you are calling from your home phone number our system will automatically log the call and dispatch crews to your area to begin troubleshooting the problem. If the automated system does not recognize the number from which you are calling (for instance, if you call from a cellular phone or a pay phone) you will be prompted to leave a message. If prompted to leave a message, please provide your name and the location where the power is out. Also, please leave a phone number where you can be reached once power is restored. We try to call customers to verify that power is back on, area by area.

Though we try to provide sufficient phone capacity on our system to handle all incoming calls at once, busy signals may occur when lots of people call simultaneously during widespread power outages. If the line is busy, keep trying if you deem it necessary. But a busy signal likely indicates that your neighbors are reporting the outage for your area, too.

With crews on call around the clock every day of the year, AUB’s Power Division serves all of Athens and most of McMinn County. Tracking down a problem, planning the job safely, and making the necessary repairs takes time. During outages, it is our goal to restore power as quickly as possible while performing every task safely so that our crews do not get hurt.

AUB’s Tree Trimming Program

A Year-Round Necessity to Ensure Reliable Power

“Why is my power out?!” We’ve all come to expect our electric power to be there with complete reliability. So, when it does go out, we want answers.

All too often, the answer for the above question is that a tree limb has either bumped or fallen on a power line. Downed lines are not only one of the top reasons for power “blips” and outages, they are a safety hazard and a big expense to every customer.

Sometimes, the same tree or group of trees knocks out power to hundreds of customers over and over again. So we, you, every customer, pay to fix the same problem over and over again. Doesn’t make good sense, does it? The only way to end the problem and control this cost is to properly trim the culprit trees.

That’s why AUB is putting in place a new tree-trimming program. In a nutshell, we must properly trim all trees that threaten power lines. The work will be in accordance with trimming standards that are healthiest for the trees and the power system.

The basics of our new program…
We will use an arborist to advise us on the best tree trimming practices for the health of the trees. The Aborist will often talk with customers as well about tree trimming methods;
When at all possible, AUB will notify property owners of planned trimming prior to the work; during emergencies, such as when a tree has fallen, this may not be possible.

Trimming is free of charge to the customer;

Customers have the option of arranging for an independent contractor at their expense to trim their trees to AUB specifications prior to AUB contract crews trimming their neighborhood/street. However, if a property owner chooses this option and then does not follow through with getting the trees trimmed, AUB will return to trim the trees and must then charge for the work;

All trimming will be done according to the best-recognized and approved principles of modern tree surgery. For more info click here;

Limbs and/or branches will be cut flush with the supporting trunk or limb so that no stub is left. This method, called “lateral pruning,” is healthier for the tree than the old “rounding over” method;
Trees will be trimmed to a minimum clearance of 15 (15) feet. Limbs may be cut farther from the lines to comply with lateral trim methods;

The premises of the property owner will be left as neat as before the trimming; our crews will chip the resulting brush and small limbs, but larger limbs and/or trunks are the property owner’s responsibility. AUB will cut limbs and trunks to short, manageable lengths for the property owner.
Limbs that are hanging over lines will be trimmed as high as possible. All efforts will be made to eliminate weak, diseased, and dead limbs above the wires that may fall or blow into the wires;
Trees under service lines (the lines running from the customer’s house to the transformer) are the property owner’s responsibility. For your convenience and safety, AUB crews will disconnect those lines free of charge at your request when you want to remove or trim a tree near them.