Tag: Tennessee Valley Authority

U.S. House Passes Bill to Require Tennessee Valley Authority Disclose Salaries for Top Executives

Tom Pappert

The U.S. House of Representatives on recently legislation filed by Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) and Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) that would require the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to publish the salaries of its top executives, Cohen announced in a Monday press release.

Titled the TVA Salary Transparency Act, text of the two-page bill reveals new requirements would be posed for the TVA to provide annually “a report of the total number of employees at the management level or above, to include all executives and board members, that shall include the names, salaries, and duties” of employees “that are receiving compensation” higher than that allotted to the highest paid government employees.

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14 Tennesseans Dead Due to Extreme Winter Weather, Health Department Confirms

Kaitlin Housler
Nashville Snow

The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH)  confirmed 14 Tennesseans died due to the winter weather and extreme cold in the state.

“The Tennessee Department of Health has confirmed 14 weather-related fatalities. Five in Shelby County, one in Hickman County, one in Madison County, two in Washington County, one in Carroll County, one in Knox County, one in Van Buren County, one in Lauderdale County, and one in Henry County,” the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) wrote in its Wednesday evening Flash Report.

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Tennessee Valley Authority Requests ‘Voluntary Curtailment’ to ‘Reduce Electric Consumption’ but Predicts No Blackouts

Tom Pappert

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Tuesday began asking utility companies to request their customers voluntarily curtail their power usage in an effort to “reduce electric consumption” as frigid weather slows much of the country, but the federally owned power company recently told Tennessee media outlets it does not expect rolling blackouts to occur because of winter weather in 2024.

Energy companies in Alabama and Kentucky have confirmed the TVA is requesting their customers decrease their energy use, with Huntsville Utilities in Alabama explained in a news release that “dangerously low temperatures” and “the expected high electric demand” prompted TVA to request “voluntary curtailment across their entire system.”

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Tennessee Valley Authority Awards 37 Tennessee Schools with Grants Based on Energy Waste Cuts

Kaitlin Housler

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) awarded 64 schools across six states in the southeast region grants ranging from $10,00 to $410,000 through the energy company’s School Uplift program, with 37 of the recipient schools in Tennessee.

TVA’s School Uplift program “supports public schools in the region by offering energy efficiency training and grants that reduce energy costs and improve the quality of the learning environment.”

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DOE and EPA Awards TVA After Implementing Rolling Blackouts for Failing to Meet Energy Demand During Christmas Weekend

Kaitlin Housler

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as one of the ENERGY STAR Partners of the Year in energy efficiency for 2023.

The ENERGY STAR program honors a “group of businesses and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy achievements,” according to the program’s description on the EPA and DOE websites.

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Tennessee Valley Authority Announces $3 Billion in Fourth-Quarter Revenue as Investigation into Blackouts Continues

The Center Square

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Tuesday it made $3 billion in operating revenue in the final three months of 2022.

The revenue came as TVA faced what it called the first temporary blackouts in the energy company’s 90-year history in late December, something the company apologized for and has vowed that it is fully investigating.

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Tennessee Valley Authority Requests Businesses, Residents Reduce Power Usage as State Hits ‘All-Time’ December Power Peak

Kaitlin Housler

Amid temperatures in the teens and single digits across the state on Friday, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced that power demand in Tennessee hit an “all-time December peak.”

TVA announced Friday that it and local power company employees were “actively working to maintain a stable power grid for everyone amid unprecedented demand,” by “temporarily reducing power supplies to localized areas.”

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Members of Tennessee’s Congressional Delegation Seek Greater Transparency Within the Tennessee Valley Authority

Cooper Moran

U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) on Wednesday reintroduced a bill that aims to improve transparency within the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

The legislation, known as the Tennessee Valley Authority Transparency Act, received bipartisan support among members of the Tennessee congressional delegation, as Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) and Mark Green (R-TN-07) cosponsored the measure.

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Tennessee Valley Authority Recommends Curtains of Bubbles to Mitigate Asian Carp

Morgan Nicole Veysey

he Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recommended in their final programmatic environmental assessment to install what’s called a bio-acoustic fish fence (BAFF) that includes sound signals, directional strobe lighting, and a bubble curtain in order to keep the invasive species of Asian carp from Tennessee rivers.

According to the assessment, the species “has the potential to threaten native ecosystems, rare and protected species, sports fisheries, and public safety, which can lead to reduced recreation, tourism, and property values; and ultimately impact local economies.”

The TVA notes in their detailed report that there are are four fish that fall into the Asian carp family; the bighead carp, the silver carp, the black carp, and the grass carp. The species was introduced to America in the 1960s and 1970s. The fish were imported to improve the water quality in fish farms, and after they were utilized for other aquaculture purposes were allowed to be released into the Mississippi River.

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California Exodus Continues: Parent Company of Christian Radio Networks K-Love and Air1 Fleeing ‘Golden’ State for Nashville

Corinne Murdock

The Educational Media Foundation (EMF) announced it would be moving its global headquarters from Rocklin, California to Nashville, Tennessee. EMF is the parent company to popular contemporary Christian radio networks K-LOVE and Air1, as well as Christian content producers AccessMore podcasts and WTA Media. 

EMF stated that the transition would take about three years’ time. In its announcement, EMF clarified that it had also made small preparations for this move in advance, such as the expansion of broadcast studios and offices for the companies already based in the state. 

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Tennessee Valley Authority’s Use of Diverse Power Generation Sources Credited With Keeping Electricity Flowing in Tennessee During Winter Storms

Jason M. Reynolds

Unlike Texas, Tennessee has been blessed to largely keep the electricity on during the winter storms, with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) crediting its diverse generation assets.

Although thousands of homes throughout the Tennessee Valley have lost power at different times thanks to issues like trees falling on transmission lines, electric generation in the Volunteer State has held up despite the high demands from below-freezing temperatures.

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Project to Fund Electric Car-Charging Stations in Tennessee Will Cost $20 Million

Chris Butler

Officials with The Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced Wednesday they will develop more electric car-charging stations in the state, at an anticipated cost of $20 million. TDEC and TVA officials said in a press release that to get the money they “will leverage various funding sources.”

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Tennessee Government Officials Want Funding for More Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

Chris Butler

Officials with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation are scheduled to unveil a plan Wednesday to develop and fund more charging networks across the state to power electric vehicles. The Tennessee Star on Tuesday asked officials with both agencies if enough Tennessee residents are driving electric vehicles to justify investing public resources into this infrastructure.

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Review of TVA CEO Jeff Lyash’s Pay Will Extend into 2021

The Associated Press

The review of a federal utility’s CEO compensation following President Donald Trump’s criticisms of the pay scale will continue into 2021, according to its board chairman.

John Ryder, Tennessee Valley Authority chairman, said at a board meeting held virtually Friday that results from an independent consultant’s review of CEO pay should be ready for the utility’s board meeting in February.

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President Trump Fires Tennessee Valley Authority Chair Over Hiring of Foreign Workers, Caps TVA CEO Pay at $500k

The Associated Press

President Donald Trump said Monday that he had fired the chair of the Tennessee Valley Authority, criticizing the federal-owned corporation for hiring foreign workers.

Trump told reporters at the White House that he was formally removing chair Skip Thompson and another member of the board, and he threatened to remove other board members if they continued to hire foreign labor. Thompson was appointed to the post by Trump.

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TVA Believes Nashville Will Have More Electric Cars, Despite Evidence to the Contrary

Chris Butler

Taxpayers have paid millions of dollars to help electric vehicle manufacturers not only get their products out on the road but also furnish electric car charging stations all over Nashville. Prior reporting shows few people around Nashville appear to use these charging stations. Yet officials with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Nashville Electric Service expect more and more Nashville drivers will soon take up the habit of driving electric cars. They’re preparing a study to gauge how Nashvillians can best prepare. But must Music City drivers make way for more Chevy Sparks and Nissan Leafs? According to a press release, FleetCarma, TVA, the NES, and the Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation are launching something called SmartCharge Nashville. The statement says people interested in buying EVs wonder how far they can drive before they need a charge. Utilities also need to prepare for more EVs on the road, the release said. SmartCharge is supposed to help with both of those things. No one at the NES returned The Tennessee Star’s requests for comment Friday. But TVA spokesman Joshua Clendenen said the following in an emailed statement to The Star: “While the adoption of electric vehicles inside the Tennessee Valley has…

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Commentary: Tennessee Democrat Wrongly Pushes TVA as Broadband Solution

Admin
Phil Bredesen

The Democrat seeking to replace the retiring Sen. Bob Corker (R) is pushing the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) as a solution to solve the rural broadband gap. But, history shows that kind of big-government method will only take a bite out of taxpayers. Bredesen, the former governor of the Volunteer State, said recently he wants to amend the federal TVA Act to permit that government-owned power providers offer broadband access to rural areas of Tennessee. He said, “TVA is perfect to fix this digital divide,” noting the TVA board’s 2017 plan to spend $300 million to expand its network fiber capacity, which should improve the reliability of its transmission system. “I want our country to get back to the days when it did bold projects and not just fool around the edges with grants, tax credits, and demonstration projects,” Bredesen said. TVA seems more pragmatic and less eager about the idea than Bredesen. TVA spokesman Jim Hopson told the Times Free Press the focus of the expansion is to ensure reliable delivery to power in seven states, and that TVA “is not intending to become a broadband supplier.” While the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam…

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TVA To Eliminate Handguns For Security Officers, Raising Concerns About Safety

Wendy Wilson

Tennessee Valley Authority security officers will no longer be able to carry handguns, a change in policy that has prompted one employee to speak out about the danger he thinks it poses. Paul Tackett told WRCB Channel 3 in Chattanooga that nuclear power plants are considered high value targets to terrorists. “Radiological release, that’s what they’re after. Terrorists are after to kill as many as they can in the quickest way,” he said. Tackett, who has worked as a senior nuclear security officer at TVA’s Watts Bar Nuclear Plant for seven years, is currently required to carry a handgun and pepper stray. He recalled an incident four years ago in which someone fired at an officer at the East Tennessee plant. The officer wasn’t hurt, but the incident shows that anything can happen at any time and that officers need to be able to protect themselves, Tackett said. “Everyone I talk to over there says the same thing, I mean, they’re just like me, saying what are we going to do if something happens?” Tackett said. Tackett said he won’t be able to carry a handgun after August 15. The TVA told WRCB the changes will be complete by the end…

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