TVA once again raises power rates during fossil fuel spending spree

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors voted to increase its base power rates by 5.25 percent at its meeting on Thursday, the second rate hike the federal utility has authorized in just 12 months. Combined, these add up to a nearly 10 percent increase in power bills for families across the Tennessee Valley.

The rate hikes come as TVA is planning to recklessly spend billions of dollars on new gas plants and pipelines that will pollute communities and worsen the impacts of climate change. 

“While TVA leaders are attempting downplay the impact of these rate hikes, the truth is that they will hurt families across the region who are already struggling just to keep the lights on,” Amanda Garcia, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, said. “The nation’s largest public power utility should be rapidly deploying clean energy options that can lower power bills – not rubber-stamping reckless rate increases.”

During the meeting, TVA Board members urged the federal utility to move faster on clean energy investments, which are proven to save customers money and create more jobs in the Tennessee Valley. Even though TVA leadership claims it is committed to renewables, it is undermining those efforts by moving forward with a multi-billion-dollar gas spending spree.

“Actions speak louder than words, and right now TVA’s actions show that the federal utility is intent on plowing ahead with its expensive gas plans, no matter how much it costs the families it serves. If TVA is serious about lowering power bills, it should listen to Board members that are calling for the utility to move more aggressively to adopt cheaper and cleaner energy solutions like solar power, energy efficiency, and battery storage,” Garcia said.

The rate hike comes as many TVA customers are already facing high power bills. For example, a recent study showed that more than 27,000 low-income families in Memphis are facing staggeringly severe energy burdens of more than 20 percent, meaning a fifth of their income goes to their electricity bills. Energy burdens in Memphis and throughout the Tennessee Valley are likely to worsen as TVA continues to raise rates to pay for outdated and inefficient fossil fuel infrastructure.