Markey, Cohen call on Tennessee Valley Authority to phase out fossil fuels

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) led a letter this week calling for the federal Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to phase out the use of fossil fuels by the middle of the next decade.

In the letter to TVA President and CEO Jeffrey Lyash and board Chairman William Kilbride, Markey and Cohen wrote that the TVA “should be leading the nation’s transition to a clean, renewable energy future, not dragging its feet.” But the TVA continues to rely on fossil fuels, they wrote.

These fuels, they wrote, “are not only supercharging the climate crisis, but are subjecting TVA customers to electric grid blackouts and energy insecurity. It is long past time for TVA to begin the transition to a renewable and reliable electric grid.”

The TVA, established during the Great Depression as part of former President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal initiative, is the largest public utility in the U.S. and the sixth-biggest power supplier overall. A 2022 report from the Sierra Club, cited in the letter, indicates the TVA is projected to be responsible for some of the largest amounts of coal- and natural gas-generated electricity past 2030 of major utilities. The TVA’s own outlook indicates that on its current trajectory, the utility’s carbon emissions will reach 34 million tons by 2038. 

Markey and Cohen further wrote that failure to transition off fossil fuels will trickle down to the TVA’s customers, with a January report from the Government Accountability Office indicating climate change-related threats could cost the utility’s customers billions of dollars.

“This burden on ratepayers will only grow heavier as TVA’s aging and vulnerable grid experiences more severe extreme weather events,” they wrote.

In addition to Markey and Cohen, the letter was signed by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-Calif.), Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), and Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).

"Since 2005, TVA has reduced mass carbon emissions by 57%, one of the largest decreases in the industry. We will continue to lead, with our current plan taking us to an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035 – without impacting reliability or affordability," a TVA spokesperson told The Hill in an email. "We are working towards being carbon neutral by 2050 through an accelerated plan of increasing our solar and energy storage capacity and exploring new technologies, such as Small Modular Reactors, that can provide carbon-free power to meet demand at all times."

Updated at 4:24 pm.