James DalrympleTennessee Valley Authority announced today it is naming James R. "Bob" Dalrymple as senior vice president of coal and gas operations, reporting to the agency's newly hired chief generation officer Chip Pardee.
Dalrymple, who most recently served as vice president of TVA's gas operations, will oversee operations of TVA's more than 150 coal, combined cycle gas, and simple cycle gas units.
"Bob is known for his strong focus on TVA power customers, which is vital at a time when families, regional industries and local power companies are relying on low-cost electricity that improves our daily lives and contributes to economic success," Pardee said in a statement today. "Combining our gas and coal units under a central leader supports our 'one fleet' approach to power generation. This allows us to more efficiently operate our assets in a time of soft load growth, higher fuel and commodity costs, and stringent environmental standards."
Dennis Spencer, who previously headed TVA's coal plants, will assume a new role of overseeing the retirement of TVA's oldest and least efficient coal units. TVA signed an agreement in 2011 to phase out 18 coal units and install scrubbers on its remaining units to limit its smog emissions.
Dalrymple has more than 25 years of utility experience in power generation, system operations and transmission delivery. Before leading TVA's 9,000-megawatt gas operations, he served in transmission maintenance, customer service and system operations roles. Dalrymple earned his electrical engineering degree from the University of Alabama.