TVA faces another Congressional hearing
June 3, 2009
In a craftily worded statement before a congressional committee today, John M. Thomas III, Vice President and Controller, Tennessee Valley Authority, said, “TVA is facing some significant financial and operational challenges that are expected to impact this year’s financial performance and the year ahead.”
To Mr. Thomas goes the “Understatement of the Year” award.
His testimony was given before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
First is the question of why would the TVA send a “second-stringer” to appear before a congressional committee? I’m sure the committee would like to get at the heart of the problems engulfing TVA from their main man, TVA CEO and President Tom Kilgore.
But at least Mr. Thomas should have been able to say in his opening statement something about why and what caused the Kingston dam burst that has raised so many questions about TVA’s management and its possible culpability.
No answers since December 22, 2008 when it happened. An appropriate question to anyone in the TVA would be, why has it taken so long, now over five months, to make a determination?
Who better that Thomas knows the financial problems in the TVA, yet he offered nothing. He said nothing about TVA’s limit of $30 billion in congressionally mandated borrowing capacity.
He said nothing about how the TVA was trying to avoid paying for the damages caused by the Kingston disaster or where the money would have to come from for the expedited and required cleanup of air pollution caused by four coal-fired TVA plants.
“…(T)he national economic downturn is reflected by a reduced demand for electricity, especially in the industrial sector; and we have seen a decline in market performance in the TVA pension fund and the trust fund required for future nuclear plant decommissioning.”, Thomas stated.
Nothing was said of the potential extra costs of two new nuclear plants and the costs to rebuild two cannibalized Bellefonte plants in Alabama. The estimated cost of a single new nuclear plant is about $9 billion. Where would this money come from?
“We also anticipate additional costs for strengthened environmental requirements for coal ash disposal, along with future carbon and mercury control measures.” said Thomas.
No estimates? If TVA can estimate that the Kingston cleanup that approaches a billion dollars excluding potentially billions more, other estimates seem hard to come by. “The estimate for the recovery does not include state and federal regulatory costs, litigation, or any necessary long-term environmental remediation.”, he said.
Yet TVA goes its merry way spending money it does not have on minor projects such as the one in Dade County Georgia. According to the Dade County Sentinel, “…TVA has announced Dade Middle School will be a pilot school for educational materials through TVA. The decision was made after TVA representatives helped with judging during the Volkswagen Project Synergy.”
TVA’s motives in this case are very clear; they want to help provide the workforce for the new VW plant near Chattanooga. TVA, of course, will supply the electricity for that new venture. But for TVA, a federal agency, to come into town and “designate” which school will be a TVA pilot program it provides educational materials to is patently outrageous.
And U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, chairman of the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will be coming to Roane County for a Town Hall meeting on Sunday, June 7 to get it straight from the horse’s mouth. The people.
Ernest Norsworthy
emnorsworthy@earthlink.net
http://norsworthyopinion.com