TVA Nuclear Plan a Boost to DeKalb County (GA)

times-journal.com ^ | August 27, 2008 | staff

[kellynla]

Word from the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Fort Payne Improvement Authority was basically the same – grin and pay it. That’s how power officials discussed TVA’s largest rate hike in almost 35 years.

Listening to them tell us there is nothing that can be done is depressing for some but more concerning for others. This substantial rate jump will be felt by everyone – from families to small business to even large industry. We all need power.

We know the reasons for the increase, and for the most part, they are out of our control. Higher fuel costs take the blame. We understand that. One of the most gripping droughts in northeast Alabama history put a crunch on hydroelectric energy. The cost of coal and natural gas is higher. We know.

“My message to the typical homeowner is the same thing to my wife. And that is: prepare to live with this until something changes,” said Tom Kilgore, an Ider native and TVA’s CEO.

Maybe there is some hope in Kilgore’s remarks. Something can be done, and those forced to pay higher and higher energy costs can push to make sure it happens.

[kellynla]

"The first, and certainly not the least, of those reasons are jobs...But the most important aspect of getting those reactors built and operational is the increase in power production for TVA"

[buck61]

I noticed the article says nothing about two of the TVA nuclear plants being shut down.
Seems the reactor cooling makes the water discharge too hot to release back into the river, due to the EPA ?

[SuziQ]

Good editorial!