A History of McMinnville Electric System

In August 1939, during the administration of Mayor J. R. Taylor, the City purchased holdings of the Tennessee Electric Power Company in Warren, DeKalb, Van Buren and parts of Cannon and Wilson counties. This was the birth of McMinnville Electric System (MES). The purchase price was $403,000. McMinnville issued $450,000 in revenue bonds to finance the 1939 purchase and paid off that issue in full in 1959. When the system began, it was serving 3,211 customers with approximately 200 miles of line. During the 1939-40 fiscal year, MES purchased 6,967,980 kilowatt hours of power from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) at a cost of $37,362.29. Until 1942 when Caney Fork Electric Cooperative was established, MES served a large portion of Middle Tennessee. The Cooperative was formed to supply electricity to the rural portions of this area while MES retained the towns of Smithville and Sparta. When the City of McMinnville celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1960, McMinnville Electric System was a mere 21 years old. Yet, the system was free of any long-term indebtedness. During FY '60, MES purchased 106,120,400 kilowatt-hours of electricity from TVA at a price of $473,538.56 to serve the cities of McMinnville, Sparta and Smithville. The system at that time had 173 miles of line. At the end of 1960, the City of Sparta exercised its option to assume ownership of the system's holdings there, and the City of Smithville began its own distributorship in 1969. During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, MES grew with McMinnville's expanded population. The system constructed a new 161 KV substation and jointly purchased the 161 KV substation at Newtown. These decision were made to better insure the future reliability of electric power for McMinnville. In 1977, the system purchased an in-house computer and put the advancement of this technology to work for our consumers. Up to this time, MES had used a billing service to handle customer billing. In September of that year, we mailed our first batch of in-house produced billing. Since that time computer technology has been applied to every phase of our operations. The 1990's have brought steady growth to our community and our electric system. We have increased our community involvement and many of our fine employees contribute to the betterment of the quality of life in our community on a daily basis through their volunteer efforts. In 1996, the American Public Power Association awarded McMinnville Electric System the prestigious "Community Service Award." We work closely with the local Chamber of Commerce, the Industrial Development Committee, and the Existing Industry Committee. We are also involved in the Partners in Education Program and the School-to-Work Program. Today, MES is a modern, forward thinking public power electric system. Proud of its heritage of home ownership, reliable service, low-cost electricity, and excellent customer service. We are preparing to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the new deregulated, competitive environment that will come to our industry by the 21st century.