Big news from TVA. After months of organizing, TVA has agreed to open a 30-day public comment period on the draft Integrated Resource Plan, the document that will shape how TVA generates power for the next several decades.
This happened because our volunteers, staff and partners kept showing up. Our Clean Up TVA Coalition led the charge, in addition to Sierra Club members gathering hundreds of postcard comments at tabling events across the state, from the Climate Reality training to Earth Day celebrations to Cattywampus's Where the Waters Meet event in Knoxville. At the last board meeting, Leah McCord, TN Projects Coordinator with Appalachian Voices, told the new board members directly why a comment period mattered. Many others echoed this message and it worked. TVA said hearing from ratepayers made the difference.
Persistence pays off, even with a brand new board and a tough political climate. TVA is listening because we keep showing up.
There is still work to do! The comment period runs through July 22 and the Regional Energy Resource Council (RERC) reviews the draft IRP on July 14 in Chattanooga. We plan to deliver those postcards and online comments on July 10, and we want as many voices as possible in front of RERC members before that meeting so they're reading what Tennesseans actually think before they make their recommendation.
From there, the TVA board will vote on the final plan at its August 20 meeting in Jackson, TN, giving us one more chance to show up in full force before a decision gets made.
If you haven't submitted a comment yet, now's the time. Take action here. Every voice adds to the pressure that got us this far.