Smithville’s brand-new John Robert Nixon Substation is now online after a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday morning by the Smithville-DeKalb Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the completion of the facility.
Chamber president and local minister Isaac Gray opened the ceremony with a prayer and called for a moment of silence honoring the recent passing of Karen Jacobs, wife of Alderman Shawn Jacobs. 
Smithville Electric System board members Hilton Conger, Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss, John Robert Nixon, Walter Burton and Tony Hagan lined up for the official cutting.
The final breaker putting the station online was flipped by Mr. Nixon himself just after the ribbon-cutting.
“Today we celebrate a first for the City of Smithville. The City of Smithville now has two sources of electricity. What this means for the city and our industrial customers is no more outages,” said Burton, who presided over the dedication program.
“In just a few days the West Main Street Substation will go off line with needed updates and improvements and the city will be served entirely by the John Robert Nixon Substation. As soon as the work on West Main Street is completed both stations will be on line to provide power to the city,” he added.
The new station is unique in the TVA in that the facility is totally paid for and no debt remains for residents to pay. By being debt-free Smithville Electric System has some of the lowest rates in the Tennessee Valley.
Smithville Electric System has served the citizens of the city of Smithville since 1969. SES has become a vital part of the community and has been instrumental in helping attract industry to the city. SES continues its efforts to improve the reliability and availability of power to the city with the completion of  the JRN substation.
Members of the SES staff are Interim Manager Richie Knowles; Kevin Martin, line supervisor; Ed Rowland, lineman; Jeremy Ashburn, lineman; and Keith Randolph, lineman. Office staff include Vickie Snow, Office Manager; Amy Martin, payroll clerk and Human Resources; Beth Vandergriff, customer service specialist; and Megan Nixon, accountant.
The substation is named in honor of Mr. John Robert Nixon who served as chairman of the SES board for 48 years (1969 – 2017), because of his dedication and leadership.
Smithville Mayor Jimmy Poss, Alderman Danny Washer, Police Chief Mark Collins, and City Public Works Director Kevin Robinson also attended.