This text originally appeared in the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

TVA is proud to partner with MLGW to deliver reliable, low-cost energy to the people of Memphis.

Reliable electricity — keeping the lights on; staying warm in the winter and cool in the summer — is a basic need that most of us take for granted. It’s not something most people worry about until it isn’t there.

But last week was different. As a major winter storm made its way across the South, millions of people in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi and across the river in Arkansas were without electricity. Many for several days. Our thoughts are with the families impacted by last week’s storm.

TVA is privileged to partner with MLGW to generate and deliver reliable electricity to the people of Memphis and Shelby County every day. We are accountable to prepare and plan for events like last week, which are now happening more frequently.

There have been questions about why the lights stayed on in Memphis and Shelby County while others nearby suffered outages and rolling blackouts. I’ve been asked what I learned from this extreme weather event. Let me share a couple of thoughts with you, as we evaluate TVA’s performance.

Keeping Memphians with power is TVA's top priority 

First, thank you to the women and men of TVA and MLGW, who are focused each and every day on serving Memphis. They worked around the clock, braving the elements. Their commitment and combined response to the coldest weather Memphis had seen in years helped make the difference.

Second, I was reminded of one of the guiding principles of public power: High reliability is every bit as important as low cost. When weather is at its worst, families expect us to deliver power reliably, without sacrificing cost.

TVA is one of the nation’s largest power producers, with diverse and adaptable generation that includes nuclear, gas, hydro, coal and renewable energy. That power is delivered to you through one of the most reliable transmission systems in the country.

TVA has delivered power to MLGW with 100% reliability for over 20 years. But we’re not satisfied. In fact, we are investing $72 million in the transmission network in Memphis to ensure future reliability and prepare for growth and jobs.

Memphis is home to some of largest, most recognizable companies in the nation. These companies expect and demand two things – reliable service and competitive prices.

We know how important it is to have reliable energy

With every season and every extreme event, we capture and apply lessons learned. One example is a recent trend we’ve seen in weather volatility. To account for this, we’ve raised our energy reserve margin from 20 to 26 percent to ensure that our number one priority – keeping your lights on – is always our most important objective.

We also continuously invest in winterizing our assets across the TVA system. We have done this while maintaining some of the lowest costs in the nation.