Comments on TVA's 2007 draft strategic plan

To TVA's Board of Directors:

In the discussion of a new strategic plan, TVA stands at a crossroads. Down one path, the going is easy... at least for a while. Just before that easy path dips below the horizon, we can just see the path gets much more difficult. Down another path, the going starts out difficult, at least for a while. There are problems to solve and work to be done. But we can see that it gets better, much better. Which will you take? The short-term "easy" path? Or the more difficult path with a better long-term outcome? The direction you take now will likely affect generations of valley residents.

TVA has proven in the past that it can be an effective leader in the electric power industry. And I believe it is uniquely empowered to impact the residents of the Tennessee Valley. That is why I write to you today.

I believe you should amend the draft strategic plan to reassert TVA's leadership in efficiency and conservation. TVA's commitment to efficiency and conservation was once unparalleled. These efforts not only alleviated the need for new generation and transmission, but also made our businesses more competitive. Sadly, during the excesses of the 1990's, that commitment waned and much of the rest of the world has passed us by. This is a great opportunity for TVA. The most abundant source of energy is available today. It is the wasted energy in the valley's homes, businesses, and industries and TVA was once the expert at extracting this energy. It should do it again.

I believe you should amend the draft strategic plan to assert a leadership role for TVA in renewable energy. Programs such as Green Power Switch and Generation Partners are steps in the right direction. However, they are largely programs from the last millennium and are not the complete answers to implementing renewable energy. TVA should become the leader by raising renewables into the double-digit percentage range of the generation mix. Given the growing awareness and commitment of individuals, corporations, and an increasingly eco-friendly Congress, it is simply not wise to do otherwise. When the largest corporation in the world (Exxon Mobil) is working on crafting carbon regulations, TVA should be getting serious about renewables. Nuclear energy is simply not the answer to our future generation needs. Operation may be cleaner, but the complete cycle is as dirty as fossil fuels.

I believe you should amend the draft strategic plan to assert a leadership role for TVA in environmental stewardship. As a board, you have already taken a step in this direction by preserving shoreline along TVA's lakes. I applaud you for that decision. You can do more.

• The mountaintop removal process for coal mining is a TVA problem. TVA is buying that coal and burning it in its fossil fuel plants.
  
• Long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel is a TVA problem.
  
• TVA's fossil fuel emissions within legal limits that are damaging air quality and plant life in Appalachia and North Carolina is a TVA problem.

They are all of our problems.

I suggest TVA needs to start answering some questions like:

• How the costs of the lawsuit over air quality with North Carolina could drastically affect rates in the future? What about the damage to the environment?
  
• What is the cost of buying coal from mining operations that cause accidents like that of the coal slurry spill in Martin County, Kentucky?
  
• What is the cost of buying coal extracted by leveling a mountain?
  
• What is the cost of long term storage of spent nuclear fuel on our environment and our taxpayers?

One way TVA can become a leader is by exercising its purchasing muscle in the marketplace to end questionable coal mining practices.

In summary, you should amend the strategic plan to assert TVA's leadership in efficiency and conservation, in renewable energy, and in environmental stewardship.

TVA's 2007 Strategic Plan-An Opportunity for Change

I have had the pleasure of speaking with a number of you over the last year about TVA's expansion of its transmission system into our peaceful country communities. For some of you, this discussion is very real and present as TVA informed you of its decision to seek your property. Others of you have luckily dodged that bullet and have moved on to living your lives.

I am writing to you today to challenge you to affect change on TVA. Until May 9, 2007, TVA is accepting public comments on its draft strategic plan on its website. A strategic plan is a lot like a retirement plan. We all want to retire someday, and we all have an idea of when we'd like to retire, where we'd like to live and how we'd like to live our lives once we get there. To achieve that plan, we have to allocate our resources appropriately between now and then. That's very similar to the strategic plan that TVA's Board of Directors is developing right now. They're charting the course for their future.

TVA was the leader in energy efficiency and conservation in the late 1970's and early 1980's. In the 1990's however, that changed and TVA's policy on efficiency largely reverted to the early 1970's . And in the 1990's Middle Tennessee began to see building like we've never seen before, continuing right up to present day. Unfortunately, that building was done to efficiency standards of long ago. A lot has changed. This massive building phase in Middle Tennessee without energy efficiency standards, programs, and incentives keeping pace has resulted in TVA seeking expansion of its transmission system into our communities.

I would encourage each of you to spend some time reading the draft strategic plan (links are below) and provide comment to TVA's Board of Directors. I think as you examine the document, you will see TVA has placed very little emphasis on energy efficiency and on the environment. If you agree, be sure to tell them.

How will this change things? The new board is receptive to hearing what we have to say. One need only look to a decision they recently made virtually ending the sale of its public property for private development, largely due to public outcry. If they decide to put a stronger emphasis on efficiency and conservation, it might have an impact on the project in our area. And it will definitely help ensure that other communities have to deal with this less and less.

But Bryan, TVA passed over my property. I don't have the time and I just want to live my life. That's fine and I respect that. But remember this: one of the reasons TVA decided to locate this project in our community was for the vast opportunity for expansion. Which means if you this project doesn't place a transmission line on your property in the next 3 years, you just might have one in 5 years.

TVA's draft strategic plan is at http://www.tva.gov/stratplan/
Comment on it at http://www.tva.gov/stratplan/comments.htm
and remember, the deadline is May 9.