Two Oak Ridge schools' cooling systems damaged by temps, no power

Donna Smith, Oakridger
·2 min read

Although Oak Ridge Schools could be reimbursed, the school system will have to pay $324,000 to repair equipment that provides air conditioning at Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Middle School after it was reportedly damaged by freezing temperatures and rolling electrical blackouts around Christmas.

The school system isn't alone.

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) is collecting information from counties on damages reportedly caused by the extremely cold temperatures of Dec. 24-27, according to Brice Kidwell, Anderson County Emergency Management Agency assistant director. He said TEMA has requested information on damages caused by the freezing temperatures from governmental agencies, utility departments, nonprofit organizations and schools.

Oak Ridge Schools was one of them.

Keys Fillauer, seen here in a 2021 file photo, was re-elected as chairman of the Oak Ridge Board of Education meeting on Jan. 9, 2023. Laura McLean, not shown, was re-elected as vice-chair by her fellow board members.
Keys Fillauer, seen here in a 2021 file photo, was re-elected as chairman of the Oak Ridge Board of Education meeting on Jan. 9, 2023. Laura McLean, not shown, was re-elected as vice-chair by her fellow board members.

Kidwell said TEMA representatives will be coming to Tennessee in the coming weeks to do their preliminary reports and to meet with the entities who reported damages, a fact echoed by TEMA spokeswoman Maggie Hannan.

Allen Thacker, the Oak Ridge school system's supervisor of maintenance and operations, told the Oak Ridge Board of Education earlier this month that parts in several cooling towers at Oak Ridge High and Robertsville froze and burst because of the extremely low temperatures. He said the school system had backup equipment to protect the cooling towers, but that backup equipment required electricity.

TVA, which provides electricity to a seven-state region, had major setbacks during the frigid temperatures. As reported in KnoxNews, the coal-fired Cumberland Fossil Plant - its largest power plant - shut down in the early hours of Dec. 23 after being damaged by the cold. TVA struggled to keep its backup natural gas plants and its only big gas plant in East Tennessee running consistently, and had to institute its first-ever rolling blackouts.

Thacker recommended that the board of education approve the emergency repairs by McMahan Mechanical LLC. The board gave its approval at the Jan. 9 meeting in the School Administration Building, New York Avenue.

"Emergency funds will be allocated from general fund and an insurance claim has been filed for reimbursement," he said.

The Oak Ridger's News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed. Support The Oak Ridger by subscribing. Offers available at https://subscribe.oakridger.com/offers.

This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Two Oak Ridge schools' cooling systems damaged by temps, no power