Opinion: TVA responds to CA article on utility leaning on a competitor this summer
Aaron Melda
In response to The Commercial Appeal's recent article, "When it got hot this summer, the Tennessee Valley Authority leaned on power from MISO, a competitor" we want to share background and information that counter what we believe are "incorrect" and "irresponsible" conclusions.
The North American electricity grid from Central Canada to Florida and the Great Plains to the East coast is all connected. This means power, much like water, flows along the path of least resistance anywhere in that network. Neighboring electric utilities like TVA and MISO measure the flow of electricity between systems. We call this interchange.
Interchange data from Energy Information Administration (EIA) is not a measure of sales. The article makes the false assumption that it is.
The article is based on EIA data, which shows interchange and power flows, not purchases and sales of energy. The claims made in the article confuse these two concepts. In fact, the data shows that MISO was heavily reliant on TVA – not the other way around.
Opinion:Questioning TVA's ability to provide reliable supply for MLGW
TVA continues to experience record-setting growth across its seven-state region. When TVA’s system saw historic high June temperatures and demand – including Memphis temperatures not seen in 40 years – it was able to deliver reliable power to all its customers.
During those peak days, TVA asked local power companies and residents to voluntarily conserve non-essential electricity. Voluntary conservation is not only a part of TVA’s routine operating procedures, but it is also a common utility practice.
TVA’s generation fleet delivered strong results during that time, including providing more than 12,000 megawatts of carbon-free energy from its solar, hydro, wind, nuclear and pumped storage assets. Our customers also benefitted from TVA’s investments in its transmission system—which has delivered 99.999% reliability for years—to meet the record-setting demand.
TVA’s transmission system boasts 69 interconnections with other utilities, which TVA can use to purchase less expensive or additional energy from surrounding markets. This saves our customers money.
As a neighboring utility, MISO contributed less than half of one percent of the energy needed to meet TVA’s energy needs during these record demand days. For example, during the peak hours, when MLGW’s customer demand was close to 3,000 megawatts, TVA purchased just 350 megawatts from MISO.
At this same time, MISO flowed more than 2,700 megawatts over the TVA system, from its South to Midwest region, to meet its own needs. In doing so, MISO exceeded established reliability limits, threatening the reliability of TVA and neighboring systems. MISO had to do this because, unlike TVA, it has failed to make the appropriate investments in its own system.
Aaron Melda is a TVA senior vice president of transmission and power supply.