Co-ops respond to plan to sell TVA

[NASHVILLE] – On Thursday the Trump administration released details on a reform plan that would reorganize multiple federal agencies. Among the recommendations included in the report was a proposal to sell the Tennessee Valley Authority’s transmission assets.

In response to the administration’s proposal, David Callis, executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, made the following statement:

“TVA transmission assets are important to residents of the Tennessee Valley. The federal government’s original investment in TVA has been fully repaid with interest by the people served by TVA, and these assets should not be sold to outside investors. If the administration wishes to divest of TVA transmission assets, they should be transferred to their rightful owners – the consumers of TVA power. Tennessee’s electric co-ops are owned by the people we serve, and we will pursue all options, including purchase of TVA assets, to protect our rate payers and the transmission lines they have paid to build.”

For more than 50 years electricity sales, not government appropriations, have paid for the operation and maintenance of TVA’s assets. According to 2013 study by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, TVA has returned to the U.S. Treasury more than $3 billion on the government’s original investment of $1.4 billion.

Tennessee’s electric cooperatives serve 71 percent of the state and more than 2.5 million consumers. The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association provides leadership, advocacy and support for Tennessee’s 23 electric cooperatives. The association also publishes The Tennessee Magazine, the state’s most widely circulated periodical. Visit tnelectric.org or tnmagazine.org to learn more.

For more information:
Trent Scott, Vice President for Corporate Strategy | 731-608-1519 | [email protected]