Although the Tennessee Valley Authority manages to provide lower electric power rates than people in much of the rest of the country have to pay, TVA is still vulnerable to many variables – temperature being one of them.
TVA produces electricity from nuclear plants, generators at its dams, coal-burning steam plants, etc. There are many cost variables.
With August having been extra hot and TVA being limited in discharging hot water from Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant into the Tennessee River, Browns Ferry had to cut its production. That meant higher TVA costs.
So blame hot weather – and hot water – for TVA’s need to raise wholesale electric rates 6.4 percent, which will be passed on to us all.