On December 11, the Gallatin Department of Electricity (GDE) officially flipped the switch on a new era, unveiling a state-of-the-art facility that nearly doubles its operational space and modernizes the way the utility serves one of the fastest-growing communities in the Tennessee Valley.
The grand opening drew a crowd of around 75 people, all gathered to celebrate a milestone that’s been years in the making. With upgraded truck bays, a modern fuel center, and expanded parking - from space for seven trucks to 17 - this new facility isn’t just about square footage. It’s about keeping pace with the explosive growth Gallatin has seen, and giving the crews who keep the lights on the tools and space they need to do the job right.
GDE General Manager Mark Kimbell kicked off the ribbon-cutting ceremony with a nod to the department’s roots. He traced the utility’s origins back to the 1930s, when the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was created as part of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt’s New Deal. GDE itself came into being under the Municipal Plant Act of 1939, when the City of Gallatin purchased the local electric operation from the Kentucky-Tennessee Light and Power Company.
The current board structure was set in place a decade later, in 1949.
Since then, GDE has had just four superintendents - a rare level of continuity in any organization, let alone one that’s had to evolve alongside a growing city and increasingly complex power demands. Kimbell paid special tribute to his predecessor, Bill Draper, who led the department for 27 years, from 1985 to 2013. Draper was in attendance for the ceremony, and Kimbell highlighted his tenure as a period of steady growth and modernization.
“When Bill took over in ’85, GDE had 7,938 customers,” Kimbell said. “Today, we’re serving 27,883. That’s 11,570 new customers since he retired.”
That kind of growth doesn’t happen without infrastructure to support it. Kimbell noted that since 2013, GDE has added an industrial substation on the northeast side of town and is currently building another on Albert Gallatin Avenue to the north. The expansion of the physical footprint - including this new facility - is a direct response to the demands of a growing customer base and a more sophisticated power grid.
He also pointed out how much the operational side of the business has changed. In 1967, when GDE moved into its former home on Jones Street, the department had just eight line crew employees.
Today, that number is up to 21. And the trucks?
They’ve gotten bigger - too big, in fact, for the old bays.
“The new trucks didn’t fit in the old truck bays, and the crew had outgrown their quarters,” Kimbell said. “We knew the first phase of expansion had to focus on operations.”
The new facility also includes dedicated locker rooms and restrooms for the line crews - a long overdue upgrade for the people who are often out in the worst weather, restoring power when the rest of us are hunkered down indoors.
Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown spoke at the event, emphasizing just how much the community values the people behind the power.
“You’re the heroes who take care of us when the power goes out,” she said. “We are so proud of our electric company.”
TVA’s Dan Pratt also took the mic, offering praise from the broader regional perspective. Pratt works with all 153 local power companies in the TVA system, and he didn’t mince words about where Gallatin stands.
“Everybody knows Gallatin has the fastest-growing system in the Tennessee Valley,” he said. “And the most important factor in an electric power company rising to every occasion is vision - and Mark Kimbell and his team certainly have that.”
Board Chair Haley Merideith echoed that sentiment, thanking the citizens of Gallatin for their continued support and trust in GDE.
“These new truck bays will improve response times and help with timely maintenance of equipment,” she said. “This expansion demonstrates our commitment to the customers we proudly serve.”
Brad Martin of Lyle Cook Martin Architects, the firm behind the new facility’s design, shared a lighter moment with the crowd, joking about the tight-knit nature of the electric utility world.
“One thing we learned - people in the electric power business talk to each other. It’s a fraternity out there,” he said with a smile. “This could turn out to be really good for me.”
Kim Baker, President of the Gallatin Chamber of Commerce, wrapped up the remarks with a personal reflection on how her understanding of the power industry has evolved over the years.
“When I started working with the Chamber over a decade ago, I had no idea how much I would be working with our city’s power company,” she said. “In going to conferences, I learned how vital the people who work in this industry are, as leaders in our community. So, of course, I started putting them on our board.”
She also noted that GDE’s Human Resources Director, Jaerica Troutt, is set to become the incoming Board Chair for the Chamber - another sign of how integrated the utility is with the fabric of the city.
The ceremony ended with a fitting finale: 14 gleaming GDE power trucks backed into the new bays in perfect formation, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd. It was a moment that captured the spirit of the day - a celebration not just of a building, but of the people and progress behind the power.