The governing board of the Tennessee Valley Authority is scheduled to vote at the end of next month on a blueprint that will direct future growth of the public utility. A public hearing will be held tonight at the Cool Springs Marriot in Franklin on what’s being called a 10-year strategic plan.
It addresses how TVA can meet increased power demands while considering effects on the environment and on the pocketbooks of nearly 9-million ratepayers in its footprint.
While on recess and back at home this spring, Republican Senator Lamar Alexander who chairs the TVA caucus in Congress said nuclear power is looking like a better option for power.
“Well, if we’re going to use 25-percent of all the energy in the world, where else are we going to get clean energy if don’t use nuclear power. So a number of people who are most concerned about global warming have now shifted their views and are supporting nuclear power because it’s carbon-free.”
Prior to tonight’s meeting on TVA’s strategic plan, an organization called ‘Kilowatt Ours’ is holding its own meeting to push for energy efficiency measures instead of expanding nuclear power generation.
An overly-ambitious expansion of nuclear power in the ‘70s forced TVA to halt construction on 10 reactors. The utility is still slowly crawling out of debt – which stands now at close to 25 billion dollars.
Click here to see TVA’s 10-year strategic plan.
Tonight’s (4/23) meeting starts at 6 p.m. and will last about an hour including a time for questions.
Cool Springs Marriott
700 Cool Springs Blvd.
Franklin, Tenn.
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