Rolling blackouts lasting longer than expected
It’s Christmas Eve and blackouts are back, and lasting longer than expected. And they’re in areas that weren’t expecting to be affected.
There are 104 article(s) tagged TVA:
It’s Christmas Eve and blackouts are back, and lasting longer than expected. And they’re in areas that weren’t expecting to be affected.
The TVA faces outages at two of its coal-fired plants and some of its natural gas plants, according to spokesperson Scott Brooks.
During a noon press conference, Memphis Light, Gas & Water president and CEO Doug McGowen announced that MLGW will not be doing any rolling blackouts.
When GDS Associates first evaluated the 20-odd proposals for Memphis’s power supply contract earlier this year, TVA was not the frontrunner. The initial scoring actually awarded the highest score to NextEra Energy.
Even though MLGW is in some ways back where it started, the power provider RFP wasn’t all for naught, said the utility’s board chair.
MLGW will continue its 80-year relationship with TVA through its current contract, but Commissioner Carl Person encouraged the board to work closely with the utility to seek an agreement that best suits Memphis and its ratepayers.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker presided over a four-hour hearing Thursday concerning the legality of TVA’s long-term contract.
A lawsuit alleges that TVA’s long-term contracts violate two federal laws. A U.S. district judge will hear the case Thursday.
As the utility met or surpassed key fiscal 2022 goals, its workers have each been rewarded with a median check of $6,610.
Lyash is the highest-paid federal employee in the country, but an independent consultant said the pay for TVA’s CEO was still 18% below the average of 42 comparable investor-owned utilities.
The report’s complaints hinge on the authors’ interpretation that both the East and West Ponds at the Allen Plant should be subject to federal regulations rather than the state-level commissioner’s order.
The Franklin L. Haney Co. said MLGW’s bid review process was biased toward TVA and it asked that its proposal be rescored.
The board vote could end a years-long process over who will be MLGW’s next power supplier.
Though the utility has no plans to increase rates this year — or next — costs are still expected to be 9% higher than last year.
MLGW is accepting comments at PowerSupply@mlgw.org and at board meetings until the board votes.
Critics of MLGW’s recommendation to sign a long-term contract with the TVA say the 13 bids were evaluated during highly unusual circumstances.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chair has called TVA’s federally defined geographic service territory “a vestige of a bygone era in the region.”
Only three bidders — NextEra Energy, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Franklin L. Haney Company — submitted full-requirement proposals to MLGW during its RFP process for a new energy provider.
MLGW has failed its fiduciary duties to its ratepayers. The ratepayers deserves a fair RFP. City Council should vote against the TVA contract until all questions are answered, even if it takes a few years.
Several citizens publicly objected to a long-term contract between MLGW and the TVA, saying the utility shouldn’t lock itself into a deal that diminishes its negotiating power in a rapidly changing energy market.
“MLGW’s decision on its future power supply is one of the most consequential single decisions that any community has made in the history of SACE’s work throughout the Southeast region over the past three decades,” said the executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy.
Lyash cited stability, discounted base rates and flexibility for utilities to build out carbon-free generation as the biggest draws for a long-term contract, but its terms are nonnegotiable.
As Memphis officials review bids of competitors who might replace the Tennessee Valley Authority as the city’s sole supplier of electricity, a Freedom of Information lawsuit seeks release of salary information on TVA’s four regional vice presidents.
The recommendation Thursday, Sept. 1, from MLGW CEO and President J.T. Young will likely not be the last word on the issue.
The Tennessee director of the Southern Environmental Law Center said TVA’s proposed agreement make it difficult to change energy providers, and it’s unlikely that MLGW would undergo another evaluation process similar to the current one if it signs a long-term deal. Related stories: MLGW leaders recommend staying with TVA for greatest value, least risk Suburban mayors back MLGW recommendation, still want representation