TVPPA Board OKs April Rate Change
The TVPPA Board of Directors has formally endorsed TVA’s proposal to adopt a demand-based wholesale rate schedule effective April 1, 2011.

Meeting June 26 in Chattanooga, TN, the board voted to adopt the recommendation of TVPPA’s Rates & Contracts Committee. TVPPA President/CEO Jack Simmons was scheduled to speak on the issue during the Aug. 20 meeting of the TVA Board of Directors.

TVPPA Chairman George Kitchens said it would be difficult to overstate the significance of the vote.

“This is a pretty significant step toward the brave new world we’re all entering,” said Kitchens, who also tipped his hat to the Rates & Contracts Committee and its chairman, Bristol, TN, ES President/CEO Mike Browder.

“Rates and Contracts has worked long and hard with TVA for nearly three years,” Kitchens said.

Browder made particular note of TVA’s role in that process.

“TVA has worked with us on this rate change better than on any I can remember,” said Browder, who has chaired Rates & Contracts for the vast majority of his 33 years on that committee.

TVPPA Pricing Manager Jim Sheffield said that with the vote taken, Rates & Contracts now must begin the nuts-and-bolts work.

“Having settled on April 2011, we now have to set to work with TVA on how to make sure we meet that date,” he said.

“We’ve laid the foundation – now we’ve got to build the building,” said Sheffield, who was to have attended a June 29 R & C meeting at which topics including TVA’s offer of a summer 2011 price revision and retail rate options for October 2010 were on the agenda.

Kitchens said the board vote was just the most recent example of how well TVPPA is served by its committee-based governance structure.

“We have 155 members, and we’re diverse,” he said. “We had thorough, very open discussions in Rates & Contracts and have been very respectful of every point of view.

“The great thing about all of that is that, though we respect diversity of opinion, we speak with one voice when we adopt a position,” Kitchens said.

Dam Safety Push Falls Short
The Valley took a punch in Congress on June 30, but wasn't knocked out.

The U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee marked up the 2010 Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). The bill authorizes studies, construction and other activities on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects.

Despite a strong, bipartisan push from the Valley's congressional delegation, the bill did not include language directing the Corps to treat more than $800 million in repairs needed at the Cumberland River's Center Hill and Wolf Creek dams as safety, rather than maintenance.

The difference is that the federal government picks up 85 percent of safety repair costs, while water and power users (including Valley ratepayers) would be on the hook for 100 percent of maintenance costs.

The good news for the Valley was that, given the very short time left on the congressional calendar and the controversy usually associated with WRDAs, the bill was not expected to be enacted this year. That means the process would start all over again next year, when the 112th Congress convenes.

TVA Wins NC Appeal
TVA got some good news in late July from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

That court reversed U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg’s 2009 finding that pollution from TVA’s Bull Run, Kingston, John Sevier and Widows Creek power plants constituted a public nuisance in North Carolina.

That state took TVA to court in 2006, claiming that its air quality was adversely affected by emissions from the coal-fired plants, each of which is within 100 miles of its border. Thornburg ruled for North Carolina and ordered TVA to accelerate plans already in place for installation of scrubbers and other emission-control equipment.

In reversing Thornburg’s decision, the appeals court ruled unanimously that North Carolina could not apply the standards of its “Clean Smokestacks” law to emitters outside its borders. To allow any state to so apply its own law, the court said, would result in inconsistent air-quality standards and enforcement nationwide. The appeals court also noted that TVA operates the plants at issue in conformity with the permits issued by the states in which those plants are located.

The appeals court’s decision also removed the more rigorous schedule and standards imposed on TVA and its plants by the district court.

North Carolina can either seek a rehearing before the full appeals court or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Reid Downsizes Energy Bill
President Barack Obama has gotten much of what he wanted since he took office, including comprehensive health-care and financial-sector legislation.

He’ll have to wait, though, for a climate bill that caps greenhouse-gas emissions.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed in 2009 a bill including an economy-wide “cap-and-trade” program that would put a price on carbon and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The U.S. Senate tried for more than a year to pass a similar bill but finally gave up in June.

“Terribly disappointing,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, who noted that not a single Republican signed on. The GOP had called the Democrats’ bill an energy tax and said its attendant costs would be passed along to consumers in higher electric bills and fuel costs.

Senate Democrats later tried a more modest approach – a bill that would have limited the cap-and-trade taxing of carbon to the electricity sector – but that initiative also fell short of the 60 votes needed to beat a filibuster.

TVPPA Washington Representative Deborah Sliz said the Senate Democrats’ mountain was simply too steep.

“There was no way to get the votes needed for a climate bill with all the Republicans opposed and a number of moderate Democrats deeply concerned about the economic impacts on their states,” Sliz said.

Reid sought to rebound, however, by introducing a scaled-back energy bill on June 28. The Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Accountability Act, which was to have been considered prior to the Aug. 6 recess, included no climate-change title or renewable electricity standard (RES), though amendments addressing either or both were possible.

Reid’s bill also includes provisions requiring BP to pay for damages from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and compelling oil companies to invest in technologies designed to prevent and respond to domestic oil spills.

The bill would also offer consumers rebates on the purchase of energy-efficient appliances. Businesses would get rebates for converting heavy vehicles to natural-gas fueling and communities could win grants for plug-in electric hybrid vehicle (PHEV) deployment.

HR, Safety Conferences Set Sept. 15-17
The U.S. Navy’s former senior security officer and a game-show style presentation are on tap for attendees of next month’s TVPPA Human Resource Management and Utility Safety conferences.

The meetings are set for Sept. 15-17 at the Embassy Suites hotel in Murfreesboro, TN. Attendees booking space at the hotel before Aug. 25 can get TVPPA’s special group rate of $135. TVPPA also offers a $50-per-person discount to any group of three or more individuals from the same utility who sign up for a conference at the same time by Sept. 1.

More detailed information is available by logging on to www.tvppa.com/conferences.

TVPPA Conferences Director Creed Crowder said attendees of the Utility Safety Conference will hear from, among others, Randall Chase of Tennessee’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) office and Jon Glazier of NRECA.

The conference will also feature Mike Zelnik, who wound up a 28-year Navy career as its most senior security officer. Zelnik is now program manager for Tennessee’s Office of Homeland Security.

“He’ll be updating our members on recent terrorist threats, potential risks and ways utility employees can assist in observing and reporting behavior, actions and incidents that could be associated with a terrorism plan,” Crowder said.

There’ll be an element of fun and games at the Human Resource Management Conference, as Bob Baughn of Tower Automotive in Madison, MS, will host what promises to be a lively employment-law session based on the popular game show “Jeopardy!”

Vanderbilt University’s Jay Groves is scheduled to discuss the several tangible benefits of employee-wellness programs, while ever-popular employment-law attorney Kim Vance of Baker Donelson and TVPPA’s Jim Wyche are also on the agenda.

Crowder also noted that the star power of the agendas, considerable though it is, will be rivaled by that of the site itself.

“The Embassy Suites is attractive in every way,” he said. “It’s very conveniently located and surrounded by new stores and restaurants.”

Generation Partners Deadline Nears
Having rebounded from a bumpy June and July, TVA’s Generation Partners® (GP) program is nearing another milestone.

Under terms of a plan announced in mid-July, TVA will process all GP participation agreements submitted by Aug. 31 for qualifying systems from 201 kilowatts to 999 kilowatts, maintain the existing pilot project for systems of up to 200 kW or less and extend a deadline to install approved projects from six months to one year for systems larger than 200 kW.

“TVA is responding rapidly to fulfill the commitments we have made in recent months to the distributors and developers seeking to participate in Generation Partners,” said TVA Senior Vice President John Trawick.

GP is a 10-year-old TVA pilot program designed to boost low-emission and zero-emission electricity sources for the federal utility’s Green Power Switch® program. More than 110 TVPPA-member utilities participate, as do some 12,000 residential customers and 500 commercial customers across the Valley. The program hit the 1-megawatt mark in late 2009.

This past April, TVA began approving GP participation in advance. The idea was to make it easier for customers to finance GP projects.

The result, though, was a surge of enrollment – too big a surge, in fact, and TVA had to take GP offline for a few days in June. On June 23, TVA began once again to take projects of 200 kW or less.

Then, last month, TVA announced that qualifying solar, wind, hydroelectric and biomass projects of up to 999 kW would be eligible for the same GP incentives, including a $1,000 payment to offset startup costs. TVA also said that it would pay the retail rate, plus a fuel-cost adjustment and a per-kilowatt hour premium, for 100 percent of the green power produced by GP participants.

TVA has said that it will work with TVPPA-member distributors on ways to accommodate growth in GP going forward and in projects greater than 200 kW.

Smart Grid Roadmap Meetings Set
While no one in the Tennessee Valley can say with certainty where the road to a Smart Grid will end, that road does have a specific point of origin – Nashville, TN.

That’s where a series of Smart Grid Roadmap meetings, led by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), was to have begun on Aug. 5, with rates as the topic.

Dates and topics for future Smart Grid Roadmap meetings, all of which are set for the TECA offices, include:
• Aug. 19: Remote Meter Reading
• Sept. 2: Load Control
• Sept. 16: Customer Engagement
• Sept. 30: Distribution Automation and Sectionalizing
• Oct. 14: Forecasting and Planning
• Oct. 28: Distribution System Efficiency
• Nov. 11 (tentative): Electric Transportation

TVPPA Technology Applications Director Doug Peters said that, when put together, what comes out of each of those meetings will comprise the beginnings of a road map to Smart Grid.

“We’re going to try to identify how these issues will influence infrastructure investments over the next decade,” Peters said.

“We all understand that no plan will stay intact for 10 years or replace an individual member’s need to address situations unique to his system, but we hope this will serve as a starting point from which a member can begin to plan,” he said.

Peters added that rounding up interested parties proved no problem whatsoever.

“We’re excited about the level of participation,” he said. “This is obviously something near and dear to our members.”

Power Play Golf Pushed To September
If good things really do come to those who wait, the field for this year’s Power Play golf tournament has a real treat in store.

The annual tournament, a fund-raiser for the TVA Power Distributors Scholarship Association, was scheduled for Aug. 9 at Jackson (TN) Country Club. This summer’s oppressive heat took a toll on that club’s greens, though, and Jackson CC’s membership recently voted to plant new, hardier grass on those putting surfaces.

That means Power Play’s pre-tournament fund-raiser will be Sept. 26 at Jackson’s Doubletree Hotel, with the tournament set for the next day on a storied course that should be in great shape.

Johnny Fortune, president/CEO at Bolivar, TN, EA and co-chairman (with Eddie Tramel of Alcoa, TN, ED) of the scholarship association, said the extra time may help what has been lagging sponsor participation.

“We aim to try to give away 30 $4,000 scholarships every year (to dependents of employees at participating TVPPA-member utilities),” Fortune said. “That depends in part on tournament sponsorship, and right now that’s lower than it has been.

“We know that some who could have played in August won’t be able to in September, but some who couldn’t play in August may be able to now – and we may get some help from the cooler weather,” Fortune said.

The scholarship association awarded a new round of scholarships last spring to these students:
• Lindsey Aldridge (Sheffield, AL, Utilities)
• Lauren Alford (Central EPA, Carthage, MS)
• Zachary Barker (Middle Tennessee EMC, Murfreesboro, TN)
• Lexy Batey (CDE Lightband, Clarksville, TN)
• Tyler Bell (Scottsboro, AL, EPB)
• Sarah Billingsby (Dickson, TN, ES)
• Jordan Burkeen (Murray, KY, ES)
• Derek Carroll (Pickwick EC, Selmer, TN)
• Jill Davis (Volunteer EC, Decatur, TN)
• Samuel Doran (Tennessee Valley EC, Savannah, TN)
• Hayden Hall (Lenoir City, TN, UB)
• Quincey Halliburton (Southwest TN EMC, Brownsville, TN)
• Kristina Holmes (Bowling Green, KY, MU)
• Denver Hunt (Bessemer, AL, Utilities)
• Morgan Isom (Cleveland, TN, Utilities)
• Chandler Johnson (Joe Wheeler EMC, Trinity, AL)
• Kayla McCarter (Maryville, TN, ED)
• Wesley McCreary (Rockwood, TN, EU)
• Kolby McGee (Duck River EMC, Shelbyville, TN)
• John McMullan (Tombigbee EPA, Tupelo, MS)
• Ethan Perry (Tri County EMC, Lafayette, TN)
• Jacob Plunk (Bolivar, TN, EA)
• Tyler Porter (Gibson EMC, Trenton, TN)
• LeeAnne Robertson (Newport, TN, Utilities)
• Matthew Robeson (Warren RECC, Bowling Green, KY)
• Victoria Shanks (4-County EPA, Columbus, MS)
• Logan Smith (Nashville, TN, ES)
• Alex Taylor (Bristol, TN, ES)
• Ariel Witherow (North Georgia EMC, Dalton, GA)

In addition to his scholarship, Robert Skelton (Tullahoma, TN, UB) also won the inaugural Johnny Hayes Memorial Scholarship Award, to be presented annually to “the student who demonstrated the most commitment to excellence in academics, leadership and community service.”

The award honors the memory of Hayes, a former TVA director who was central to the scholarship program’s creation.

U.S. Energy Forcast
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has released its monthly forcasts through December 2011.

Among EIA’s projections is that the annual average electricity price will change little through the end of next year. EIA anticipates a nationwide average of 11.6 cents per kilowatt hour in 2010, up slightly from 11.5 cents per kilowatt hour in 2009.

EIA estimates that electricity will cost an average of 12 cents per kilowatt hour nationwide in 2011.

EIA also predicts that carbon-dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, which declined by 7 percent in 2009, are on the way back up.

CO2 emissions are expected to increase by 3.2 percent this year and by another 1.6 percent next year, according to EIA, which cites higher energy consumption spurred by economic growth.

Smart Grid Awareness
A new J.D. Power and Associates study indicates that electric utilities nationwide have a long way to go in terms of familiarizing their customers with Smart Grid.

Power’s 2010 Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study shows that less than one in six residential customers say that they’re aware of steps taken by their utilities to implement Smart Grid/smart meter technology.

At the same time, however, awareness is up – from 12 percent in July-August 2009 to 16 percent in April-May 2010.

Broken down by states, Smart Grid awareness was highest – about 28 percent of those surveyed – in California, Georgia, Idaho and Oregon. Just 4 percent of customers surveyed in Arkansas and Montana said they were aware of Smart Grid.

Perhaps the most encouraging bit of news for electric utilities is that customers who are aware of Smart Grid and related technology are far more satisfied with their utilities.