Lamar Alexander on the TVA Spill

Tennessee Valley Authority and the public should rethink the use of coal to make electricity, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said Thursday after meeting with TVA officials according to Business Week...

Alexander says TVA, public should rethink coal use
By BETH RUCKER

A huge coal ash spill in Tennessee should make the Tennessee Valley Authority and the public rethink the use of coal to make electricity, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander said Thursday after meeting with TVA officials.

"What we need to do, it seems to me, is to make sure that the coal that we burn is burned safely and is burned as cleanly as possible, and that may cost more money and it may mean some changes in procedure," Alexander said while touring the Kingston Fossil Plant spill site.

"It may mean we need to move more rapidly toward different ways of producing electricity, specifically, nuclear power, a lot more conservation and -- where we can -- renewable energy," said the Tennessee Republican, who also met with area residents.

Alexander, who is co-chairman of the TVA congressional caucus, said coal must still be a primary source for electricity for the foreseeable future because it is one of the most affordable energy sources and provides many jobs in Tennessee.

It's one reason why TVA, which produces about 60 percent of its power from coal, can offer relatively low electric rates to some 8.8 million consumers in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. The average residential electric bill in the TVA region is $96 a month.

"It's important to be realistic about the cost of electricity," Alexander said. "TVA rates went up some this last winter, but our rates are still generally lower than most other parts of the country. One of the things we've got to keep in mind is that we not only need clean electricity but we need low rates to keep our jobs and be able to afford our bills."

TVA has said cleaning up the 5.4 million cubic yards of ash that surged into a river and neighborhood near the Kingston plant in December will take many months and cost up to $825 million, excluding fines and litigation.

Alexander said it was TVA's primary responsibility to shoulder the burden for the cost of cleanup.

TVA Chairman Bill Sansom has said TVA will not seek help from Washington.

"If there are options for federal funding I'll be glad to pursue them, but I don't want to just lead ratepayers into thinking there's some magic place in the sky where money comes to help clean up mistakes like this," Alexander said.

The senator said the families whose homes were destroyed were looking to move away from the site of the spill but have not come to an agreement with TVA on the value of their properties. TVA has bought about 20 properties so far and is negotiating to buy about 20 others.

Alexander met with several of the families when they traveled to Washington to attend a Jan. 7 Senate hearing regarding the spill and has kept in contact with them.

"TVA needs to make the families and Roane County whole, and I believe TVA is trying to do that," he said.