The Greeneville Light & Power System is considering a rate adjustment that could help certain customers through tough economic times.

General Manager Bill Carroll told the GL&PS board of directors on Monday that one of the utility's industrial customers affected by the economic downturn had requested the adjustment.

Carroll declined to name the customer who made the request.

He told the board that such an adjustment would affect rates charged to four of its customers.

In a brief interview after the meeting, Carroll explained that customers who exceed a certain amount of usage each month are charged at a rate 5 percent higher for the extra usage.

The industrial customer has requested that the 5 percent increase be removed from the rate structure.

The board agreed that Carroll can pursue the possibility of changing the rate structure during the economic crisis.

Greene County Partnership President Randy Harrell attended the meeting to discuss a request from a company wanting to install fiber infrastructure through Greeneville and surrounding areas.

The technology would be used for Internet, cell phone and other services, said Carroll, who plans to discuss the project with the company.

Harrell also spoke about the economy, calling it the "toughest" conditions he's seen in his lifetime.

"There isn't a company in town that hasn't had to respond to this recession," Harrell said.

Several companies have reduced operations to four-day weeks or have made a number of layoffs, Harrell said.

The recession, he said, likely will continue for "quite a while," he said.

"But we will get through this," he later reassured the board.

In his "Manager's Summary," Carroll gave a presentation on his trip last month to Spain.

Carroll was invited to attend the second annual "Solar Fact Finding Mission for Utility Managers and other Decision Makers."

The invitation came from The Solar Electric Power Association of America. The trip was totally funded by the American Public Power Association, so GL&PS incurred no cost.

Carroll showed photos of large solar panels being used to generate electricity in Spain.

One photo showed solar panels in a 200-acre field that would power an operation the size of Laughlin Memorial Hospital, Carroll said.

He called the panels "excellent technology" and added that he learned a lot during the trip.

Prior to adjournment the board scheduled a July 13 workshop to review its financial operating forecast for 2010.