Smithville Electric System is only weeks away from energizing its new substation.
The John Robert Nixon substation, named for the longest serving member of the Smithville Electric System Board of Directors, is located on just over five acres at 1239 South College Street.
While SES will continue to share the existing substation on West Main Street with TVA and Caney Fork Electric Cooperative, the new one will be solely for the use of Smithville Electric System.
“The work on the substation is actually complete. TVA has to do final testing on their meter and then we will be able to energize the transformer. This should be done within the next few days. We have some cosmetic work to finish on the property, landscaping, sod work and planting some trees. The replacing of the line down College Street is about 45 to 60 days behind schedule due partially to weather delays. The contractor plans on energizing part of the new line and start moving everything over from the old lines this week. We will be able to remove all the old poles once the transformers and equipment, including the cable TV and telephone lines, are moved to the new poles. SES plans on having a dedication ceremony in honor of Mr. Nixon but the date has not been set,” Richie Knowles, Interim SES Manager told WJLE.
The idea of building a second substation has been in the making for several years but the SES board began to put the plan in motion two years ago when it purchased the property on College Street after receiving approval from TVA to proceed.
According to Knowles, the new substation will provide the City of Smithville an alternate power source. “We will be able to supply power to the entire city from either substation. We can do maintenance work on the West Main Street substation without shutting off the power to the entire city,” he said.
The new substation will also be a plus for industrial recruitment to the city and lessen power outage concerns of industries already here. “Taking a city wide outage is very expensive for everyone involved. A planned outage cost to our industries alone is approximately $200,000 an hour. The new substation will help keep that from happening. It will also provide us a secondary feed for industries that might be looking at possibly coming to Smithville. That is usually their first question “do you have a dual feed”? Soon we’ll be able to say “yes we do”. Hopefully that will help attract new industry and help us keep the industry we have,” said Knowles.
Smithville Electric System is governed by a five member board of directors, appointed by the Mayor. In addition to Nixon, other current members of the board are Tony Hagan, Walter Burton, Hilton Conger and Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss.
Nixon is in his 48th year as a member of the SES board, which was founded in 1969. Other original members of the board were, Bill Maffett, Dr. W.E. Vanatta, John Bill Evins, and Clarence Braswell. Nixon has just been reappointed to a new term on the SES board but has stepped down as chairman, a position he has held since the beginning.
In a recent interview with WJLE, Nixon reflected on the history of Smithville Electric System. “We started in May 1969. The City of Smithville issued utility service bonds to purchase the electric system for $450,000 from McMinnville Electric, which had been operating the system for 25 years. McMinnville Electric had bought it from Tennessee Electric in 1944. After Smithville Electric System was formed, the city appointed a board to make all the decisions for the electric utility,” he said.
Today, Smithville Electric System serves more than 2,500 metered customers, more than double the number in 1969.
Nixon said Smithville is fortunate to have its own electric utility with directors who have managed it so well over the years. “When we decided to build this new substation, we didn’t have to borrow the money or raise rates to do it. We already had the $3 million dollars needed to complete the project,” he said.
Born in the Cove Hollow area, Nixon grew up and was educated in DeKalb County. He started college in 1948 at MTSU in Murfreesboro. He married June Judkins in 1951 and was drafted later that year. After serving in the U.S. Army including a tour of duty in Korea, he returned home to his wife and a job offer.
“Jim Amonett approached me about going to work at the Chevrolet garage”, he said.
Nixon later joined Amonett as partner owners of the business which became known as Amonett-Nixon Chevrolet. Nixon sold his interest in the dealership and left in 1983 to take on a new role as Clerk and Master for the DeKalb County Chancery Court, after having been appointed by Chancellor Vernon Neal. He served in that position for sixteen years.
Nixon has two daughters, Gwen Tolbert and Sandra Wall; and a granddaughter Tara Tolbert. His wife June passed away in 2009.
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