The Tennessee Valley Authority is reviewing public comments on the final draft of its plan to meet growing electricity demand, including a letter from two U.S. senators asking the utility to delay its approval.
U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., argued in a letter sent Wednesday to TVA CEO Mike Skaggs that the plan relied too heavily on building natural gas-fired power plants while minimizing the role of renewable energy. The senators urged TVA to delay consideration of the plan to a board meeting in November to provide more time to review and analyze comments.
TVA, the nation’s largest government-owned utility, has modified the long-term plan several times since 2023. The latest version is scheduled to go before the TVA board of directors, led by members appointed by President Donald Trump, for approval in August.
Kaine, the 2016 Democratic nominee for vice president, and Whitehouse told Skaggs the timeline for approving the latest plan was “extremely short,” especially because TVA made major changes to the plan since the previous draft last year.
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