Elizabethton Electric System (EES) was founded in 1945 as a public power distributor on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) grid.

EES provides electric power to over 24,400 customers in Carter, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington Counties in Northeast Tennessee. This area includes the cities of Elizabethton and Watauga, and a portion of Johnson City.

EES owns and maintains one Primary and eight Distribution substations and over 750 miles of line.

EES purchased over 553,000,000 kWh of electricity from TVA in 1999 at a cost of nearly $26,000,000. The total operation revenue for the year was over $33,000,000 which produced a net income of approximately $1,960,000 after expenses.

In fiscal 1999, EES paid over $840,000 in tax equivalents to its constituent counties and cities.