MLEC Crews to Restore All Repairable Power Outages by Wednesday

TVA, MLEC partner with local human resource agency for energy efficiency

(February 19, 2026 – Erin, TN) — In partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority, Meriwether Lewis donated 100 community kits to the Highland Rim Economic Corporation, which serves Humphreys and Houston Counties. These energy efficiency starter kits are filled with items such as LED light bulbs and door sweeps to help homeowners save energy and better manage their power bill. Kits are available to any person who utilizes the LIHEAP program through the human resource agency or schedules a home energy audit with MLEC Energy Specialist Nathan Wagner.

Pictured from left to right: MLEC Houston County District Jeff Rye and Highland Rim Economic Corporation Program Director Stacey Baggett.

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TVA, MLEC partner with local human resource agency for energy efficiency

(February 19, 2026 – Linden, TN) — In partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority, Meriwether Lewis donated 150 community kits to the South Central Human Resource Agency which serves Hickman, Lewis and Perry Counties. These energy efficiency starter kits are filled with items such as LED light bulbs and door sweeps to help homeowners save energy and better manage their power bill. Kits are available to any person who utilizes the LIHEAP program through the human resource agency or schedules a home energy audit with MLEC Energy Specialist Nathan Wagner.

Pictured from left to right: SCHRA Neighborhood Services’ Katrina Copeland and MLEC Perry County District Manager Matt Lineberry.

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(11:00 a.m. February 9, 2026 – Centerville, TN)- Broadband restoration efforts continued steadily over the weekend as MLConnect and mutual aid crews worked across Hickman, Lewis, and Perry counties following Winter Storm Fern. As of this morning, 372 members remain without broadband service due to storm-related damage.

Hickman County: 79
Lewis County: 158
Perry County: 135

MLConnect and mutual aid fiber crews are actively working across all three counties today, addressing mainline fiber damage, splicing locations, and individual service drops.

Mainline Fiber Work Today

• Hickman County: Falls Branch Road, Old Mill Creek Road
• Lewis County: Highway 48 South, Woodland Road, Lawson Road, Richard Gibson Road

Splicing Crews

• Hickman County: Wolf Creek Road, Briar Pond Road, Highway 100 West, Lower Shipps Bend, Dodd Hollow Road
• Perry County: Tom’s Creek Lake Road, Redbank, Flatwoods

Drop Crews

• Hickman County: Dog Creek Road, Greer Road, South Tatum Creek Road, and additional locations
• Lewis County: Long Branch Road, Rush Branch Road, Reserve High Forest, Arnold Cemetery Road

If your electric service has been restored but broadband is still out, please unplug your router, wait a few minutes, and plug it back in. Do not disconnect any cables or wires, but ensure all connections are firmly seated. If service does not return, please report the outage by calling your local office or submitting an online service ticket so crews can investigate further.

MLConnect and approximately 20 mutual aid fiber workers remain committed to working daily until every member impacted by Winter Storm Fern is fully reconnected. We appreciate our members’ patience and support as crews continue this final stretch of broadband restoration.

MLConnect and mutual aid fiber crews work through the weekend

(10:00 a.m. February 7, 2026 – Centerville, TN) MLConnect and our mutual aid crews just keep on trucking! With each crew specializing in a different phase of restoration – mainline fiber repair, splicing, and individual service drops – work can happen simultaneously ensuring active progress across all phases of repair.

Fiber outages are down to just over 500 for the hardest hit Winter Storm Fern areas of Hickman, Lewis, and Perry counties. Crews are also working in Humphreys and Houston counties. Thank you for the continued support as crews work as safely and efficiently as possible this weekend.

Main Line
Hickman County: Sulphur Creek Road, Old 50 Highway, Blue Buck Creek Road, and Right Prong Blue Buck Road
Perry County: Spring Creek Road, Swindle Creek Road, Culps Bend
Humphreys County: Victory Lane
Houston County: Spring Valley Road

Splicers
Perry County: Hardin Bottom, Swindle Creek Road, Spring Creek Road, and Culps Bend
Lewis and Hickman Counties: Napier Road and Goodman Branch

Drop Crews
Hickman County: Primm Springs, Highway 7, as well as multiple locations across the county
Lewis County: Rush Branch, Emily Dr, Indian Creek
Perry County: Pleasantville, Flatwoods

We thank you for your continued support as MLConnect remains committed to restoring all broadband services as safely and efficiently as possible.

611 outages as work continues into the weekend

(11:00 a.m. February 6, 2026 – Centerville, TN)- As crews prepare to work through the weekend, broadband restoration efforts remain active across Hickman, Lewis, and Perry counties following Winter Storm Fern. Currently, 611 members remain without service.

• Hickman County: 148
• Lewis County: 257
• Perry County: 206

While progress continues, teams are still discovering broken mainline fiber in several locations. Based on current conditions and anticipated repairs, MLConnect expects all mainline fiber repairs to be completed early next week.

In most cases, mainline fiber crews will complete their work and leave. The splicer crews will then follow up. Some services will return at this point if there are no other problems further down the line. Once mainline fiber is restored, additional time is required to complete repairs to individual service drops. This phase may take up to another week, but crews will continue working until every impacted member is fully reconnected.

Restoration efforts are taking place simultaneously across all phases of repair. Mainline fiber crews are working today in the following areas:
• Hickman County: Richard Road
• Lewis County: Goodman Branch Road, Napier Road, Woodmere Drive, Indian Creek Road
• Perry County: Hurricane Creek Road, Highway 438 West, White Oak Creek Road, Swindle Creek Road

Splicing crews, which reconnect neighborhoods once mainline repairs are complete, are working in:
• Hickman County: Bear Creek Trail, Bluewater, Trace Creek Road
• Lewis County: Cane Creek Road
• Perry County: Hurricane Creek Road, Highway 438 West, White Oak Creek Road, Swindle Creek Road, Flat Woods, and Mousetail Landing

Drop crews are also active across Hickman, Lewis, and Perry counties, repairing individual service lines from the pole to the home or business as areas become ready for final reconnection.

In total, MLConnect is working with approximately 20 mutual aid fiber workers assisting across all three counties. They are assigned to different phases of restoration to ensure work progresses as efficiently as possible. Humphreys and Houston County are also being closely monitored for any damage or broadband outages, as well.

We appreciate our members’ continued patience and support as crews work to restore broadband service safely and thoroughly.

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Approximately 20 mutual aid fiber workers assisting with storm recovery efforts

(12:00 p.m. February 4, 2026 – Centerville, TN)- Meriwether Lewis is transitioning to broadband-only updates while MLConnect crews continue working daily to restore service following Winter Storm Fern.

Approximately 801 members remain affected by broadband outages. About 95 percent of these outages are in Hickman, Lewis, and Perry counties and are directly related to storm damage.

We have approximately 20 mutual aid fiber workers alongside our local employees assisting us with repairs. Crews are currently working in multiple locations across the service area, focusing on repairing main fiber lines, neighborhood connections, and individual service drops as conditions allow. Here are some specific locations being worked on today. Crews will also be spread across the entire service area:

Hickman: Longview, Masons Bates Bend, Pleasantville, Wolf Creek Rd, Woodland Heights, Airport Rd, Highway 7, Highway 230, Roans Creek, Cavender’s Branch, Glenn Hinson Rd, Bluewater.

Lewis and Perry: Hwy 412 (Linden Highway), Flatwoods, Hwy 13, Woodmere, Indian Creek, Stanley Hinson.

The goal is to complete all remaining broadband repairs within the next two weeks. MLConnect and mutual aid fiber crews follow a structured restoration approach. Mainline fiber breaks are repaired first. From there, crews rotate through fiber splicing and repairing individual service lines and drops to homes and businesses. This coordinated process helps crews work efficiently and safely while restoring service as quickly as possible.

Members are encouraged to ensure all inside equipment is properly connected and powered on, including the router (gateway) and ONT. Loose or unplugged equipment can delay service restoration once repairs are completed.

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Broadband repairs remain a main focus

(9:00 p.m. February 3, 2026 – Centerville, TN)- Meriwether Lewis is pleased to report that all members who can be safely reconnected will have power restored later tonight or early tomorrow.

This does not include locations with weatherhead damage where repairs are required on the member’s side of the meter. Members at those locations must work with a licensed electrician to complete necessary repairs before MLEC can restore service.

If you are still without power, or know of someone who is, please contact MLEC as soon as possible to ensure the outage has been reported.

Broadband Update:
MLConnect continues working to restore broadband service across the system. At this time, approximately 955 broadband outages remain. About 95 percent of broadband outages are in Hickman, Lewis and Perry Counties. This number includes outages caused by an auto accident earlier today on Highway 412 East in Lewis County, where a semi was involved in a collision with a power pole and lines. Humphreys and Houston counties are also being closely monitored each day before local crews assist in the Winter Storm Fern restoration effort.

Due to today’s setback, the rain, and large number of member-subscribers impacted, we anticipate it will be early next week before the bulk of outages are repaired. The goal is to have all repairs completed within two weeks.

Despite this setback, fiber restoration continues across the service area. Crews alongside mutual aid that are separate from electric restoration are repairing storm-related damage to mainline fiber, neighborhood connections, and individual service drops.

MLEC and MLConnect appreciate the continued patience and support of our members as we work through the final stages of both electric and broadband restoration.

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