Tennessee Valley Authority won’t say who limits power use when grid needs it
TVA rejected a Freedom of Information Act request for the federal utility’s demand response program participants. The program is a tool to prevent the implementation of rolling blackouts. (Samuel Hardiman/The Daily Memphian file)
The Tennessee Valley Authority touts its demand response system, a program that pays some industrial users to cut electricity consumption when the grid is stressed. But it won’t reveal how much energy those large users cut or which 500 users have agreed to participate.
The demand response system is among several steps the federal agency takes during periods of high energy demand. It is a tool to prevent implementing rolling blackouts such as those that took place across TVA’s footprint in late 2022.
TVA rejected The Daily Memphian’s Freedom of Information Act request for the federal utility’s demand response program participants, saying that the information is confidential.
What TVA will share is limited data about how much power the roughly 500 industrial customers that have opted in will shed during peak times. The lack of information obscures how the largest consumers react when TVA’s grid is stressed.
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Samuel Hardiman
Samuel Hardiman is an enterprise and investigative reporter who focuses on local government and politics. A native Rhode Islander who lives Downtown, he enjoys tennis, golf and reading.
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