Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Duppers

(28,094 posts)
Wed Feb 17, 2021, 11:45 PM Feb 2021

Rolling blackouts happened in the South, but not in Tennessee

Why Tennessee was able to avoid these extended outages and rolling blackouts?

Aaron Paul Melda, transmission and power supply senior vice president for the Tennessee Valley Authority, says the utility's continued reliability is a product of its dedicated workforce and its public power system model.

"We have been built and funded by the people of the United States and the Tennessee Valley and are beholden to them alone," he said, adding that the utility can plan its grid and operations more conservatively in the absence of investor pressure.


"We work to balance cost and high reliability and ensure a diverse fleet so that we have the ability to shift power sources if need be," he said.

We have a underlying philosophy of not putting all our eggs in one basket." TVA's power comes from coal, hydroelectric, natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy sources.

40% of TVA's generating capacity is nuclear, and 45% of its power is coming from carbon-free sources, according to the company.

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2021/02/17/winter-storm-tva-avoid-rolling-blackouts-plagued-nearby-staes/6780479002/


We know TVA could never be built today under any GOP administration.



9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Rolling blackouts happened in the South, but not in Tennessee (Original Post) Duppers Feb 2021 OP
Tennessee Valley Authority's elleng Feb 2021 #1
Refreshing to see a Republican state acknowledge US taxpayers helped create their infrastructure. TheBlackAdder Feb 2021 #4
The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation elleng Feb 2021 #5
I'm surprised that Mr. Melda is not being hailed Duppers Feb 2021 #7
Reality is no GOP Administration is interested in building anything NoMoreRepugs Feb 2021 #2
True. 👍 Duppers Feb 2021 #6
Trump fires Tennessee Valley Authority chair, cites hiring of foreign workers mahatmakanejeeves Feb 2021 #3
Back in the day Bayard Feb 2021 #8
That old "socialist" FDR saved lives! Duppers Feb 2021 #9

elleng

(130,156 posts)
1. Tennessee Valley Authority's
Wed Feb 17, 2021, 11:48 PM
Feb 2021

'continued reliability is a product of its dedicated workforce and its public power system model.

"We have been built and funded by the people of the United States and the Tennessee Valley and are beholden to them alone," he said, adding that the utility can plan its grid and operations more conservatively in the absence of investor pressure.

"We work to balance cost and high reliability and ensure a diverse fleet so that we have the ability to shift power sources if need be," he said.'

TheBlackAdder

(28,076 posts)
4. Refreshing to see a Republican state acknowledge US taxpayers helped create their infrastructure.
Thu Feb 18, 2021, 01:21 AM
Feb 2021

.

If only 15 other Republican taker states acknowledge that they can't pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Then again, if they did, they would have to acknowledge that conservativism is a failed ideology.

.

elleng

(130,156 posts)
5. The Tennessee Valley Authority is a federally owned corporation
Thu Feb 18, 2021, 01:28 AM
Feb 2021

in the United States created by congressional charter on May 18, 1933, to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression. Senator George W. Norris (R-Nebraska) was a strong sponsor of this project. TVA was envisioned not only as a provider, but also as a regional economic development agency that would use federal experts and rural electrification to help modernize the rural region's economy and society.[3]

TVA's service area covers most of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small slices of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. It was the first large regional planning agency of the federal government and remains the largest. Under the leadership of David E. Lilienthal ("Mr. TVA&quot , the TVA became a model for the United States' later efforts to help modernize agrarian societies in the developing world.[4] In later decades, hydropower's share fell to 10% of TVAs power production (2018).'>>>

Wikipedia

Bayard

(21,806 posts)
8. Back in the day
Thu Feb 18, 2021, 01:15 PM
Feb 2021

TVA put thousands of people to work in very tough times. The kind of big infrastructure projects Biden wants to start building.

Duppers

(28,094 posts)
9. That old "socialist" FDR saved lives!
Thu Feb 18, 2021, 02:26 PM
Feb 2021

My uncle was one of those who worked for the TVA at its begining.

My f.i.l. worked for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in middle TN which was FDR's first New Deal agencies. Jobs were very scarce during the Great Depression.

Folks can visit most any state or National Park in U.S. and you'll be driving on roads, walking on trails and using facilities built by the CCC.

For a fascinating read, check out this CCC on Wikipedia.
Here's a few of the famous folks who joined:
Alvin C. York
Hubert D. Humphreys
Raymond Burr
Archie Moore, Boxing Champion
Robert Mitchum
Chuck Yeager
Stan Musial
Walter Matthau







Latest Discussions»Region Forums»Tennessee»Rolling blackouts happene...