TVA appoints committee to review activities during December outages

Huntsville, Ala. (WHNT) – The Tennessee Valley Authority experienced its first on-demand power outage on the morning of December 23rd and 24th.
The utility asked its power distributors, including Huntsville Utilities, to report power outages because the utility didn’t have enough power to meet record high electricity demand in the freezing temperatures.
Huntsville Utilities experienced peak power demand twice before the outage – about half an hour per area, between 5:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. on Dec. 24.
Continuous outages meant no power for many residents during periods of single-digit temperatures. TVA issued a press release following the power outage: “We acknowledge the harmful impact we have had on our customers. This is not how we want to serve our customers, and we recognize that we have failed to meet public expectations for reliable 24/7 power supply, even in emergencies.
The utility also said it will conduct an internal investigation into the incident and TVA’s actions.
TVA also says it’s dealing with a one-off storm and other utilities have also been forced to shut down power.
On the night of December 23, the weather dropped from 27 degrees to 3 degrees, and as the sun got colder, the demand for electricity increased. Eventually, there was too much demand for TVA to meet. The utility said two power plants were shut down. They also bought power from other suppliers for a while, but as the cold front moved east, those suppliers also stopped selling.
Congressman-elect Dale Strong raised his concerns Thursday, vowing to look into the issues.
“I have been in contact with the TVA CEO since the power outage,” Strong said at a news briefing in Huntsville. “You look at the economic development that’s happened in north Alabama and then the economic development in the bunker. We need to make sure we have enough energy not only for today, but also for future generations. These are the things that bother me.
According to Stron, TVA needs to take a long view of its power generation needs.
“You see, TVA has closed six coal-fired power plants since 2012, and we have to make sure we have the ability to generate power around this TVA.”
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TVA announced Thursday that it has formed a commission to review TVA’s actions in response to the storm and continued outages. TVA said the panel will review the utility’s internal reporting, identify deficiencies and recommend areas for improvement.
This panel includes Joy Ditto, President of the American Public Power Association; former US Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee; and Mike Howard, retired CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute.
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