TVPPA has suggested to the Valley’s 14 U.S. Senators that anyone nominated by President Trump to the TVA Board of Directors should meet at least four specific standards.
In a Feb. 23 letter, TVPPA President/CEO Jack Simmons wrote that any TVA board nominee coming before the Senate for confirmation should demonstrate commitment to the Valley and the public-power business model, support for “least-cost” planning and affordable power, support for TVA’s current overall direction and independence from conflicts of interest.
Simmons noted that there are currently three vacancies on TVA’ nine-member board, with two more set to occur in May. That’s when the terms of V. Lynn Evans, TVA’s current chair, and Dr. Marilyn Brown are set to expire, though they could continue to serve until Congress adjourns later this year, likely in December.
Unless at least two of those five vacancies are filled, though, the TVA board would lack a quorum by year’s end – a scenario that “should be avoided,” Simmons wrote. He added that “TVPPA believes that keeping a fully populated nine-member board is in the best interest of TVA and its customers.”
With regard to commitment to the Valley and its public-power model, Simmons noted that previous administrations had “targeted TVA for divestiture … we hope you will share the importance of TVA’s continued role in the region’s heritage, history and economy with President Trump.”
On supporting “least-cost” planning and affordable power, Simmons asked the letter’s recipients to not allow TVA to “become a platform for promoting one technology over another without consideration of costs and customer impacts.” He wrote that any board nominee should show support for TVA’s current overall direction by recognizing and respecting the “complexity” of the interdependent relationships between TVA, TVPPA and TVPPA’s 154 member utilities, and avoiding “political agendas that could disrupt this alignment.”
Finally, Simmons wrote that any TVA director should be free from any interest that creates the perception of a conflict of interest.