TVA hikes electric rates by 20%

News Staff — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:23:17 +0000

On the heels of fluctuations in gas prices and a surge in the cost of groceries and most household goods delivered to area stores comes another hit: a hike in the price of electricity. Both CDE Lightband and CEMC rates will jump 20% following a decision by the Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday.

TVA directors approved a 17% fuel cost adjustment and an additional power base rate increase of 3%. For the average household using 1,320 kilowatt hours, that translates to an additional $15 a month. The rates will show up on customers’ October billing cycle. This increase is the largest increase since 1974.

In a statement to the press, TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore cited the weather, specifically a lack of rain and a three year drought in Tennessee and the rest of TVA’s seven state region as partly responsible for the increase. Kilgore said the drought has forced TVA to rely more heavily on coal and natural gas, since hydrogeneration has been impacted by the lack of rain.

“We recognize that the increased costs TVA is experiencing are also driving up costs for the families and businesses we serve…we have no alternative for paying for fuel.” –TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore

The rate hike will not generate profit for either CDE Lightband or CEMC, since the increase will be funneled back to TVA to cover increased costs.

Clean energy at Rossview Elementary

Beth Robinson — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 17:26:43 +0000

As we are all painfully aware, energy prices are accelerating upward. Geothermal energy is a clean alternative source. Geo-thermal simply means the earth’s underground heat. The U.S. Department of Energy says geothermal energy can provide “a stronger economy, a cleaner environment, and a more secure energy future for our nation”.

Our county wisely decided to use geothermal heat/air systems at Rossview High, the central office and West Creek Elementary School. The choice to use geothermal when building the new Rossview Elementary school – instead of electric energy from burning coal – is in the hands of our Montgomery County Commissioners. They will vote on this issue on Monday, April 14. A geothermal system will be cost effective overall and better for the environment.

In 2008, the Lung Association ranked Tennessee as the worst place to live if you have asthma. We produce enormous amounts of pollution because over 60% of our electricity comes from burning coal. This was shocking to me because Knoxville, Nashville, and Chattanooga were rated worse than New York and Los Angeles.

“Unless citizens of Montgomery county speak to their commissioners, they will NOT approve using this cleaner form of energy. I had a difficult time finding my Montgomery County Commissioner on the web, so below I provide a list which I created by combining 3 other lists.

“It may well be that our means are fairly limited and our possibilities restricted when it comes to applying pressure on our government. But is this a reason to do nothing? Despair is nor an answer. Neither is resignation.” – Elie Wiesel

A List of elected officials for Montgomery County Tennessee at the Election commission web site.

Environmentally friendly bills stalled in Tennessee senate committees

Beth Robinson — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:29:31 +0000

Have you attended a Tennessee senate committee hearing in Nashville? On April 2 Clarksvillian’s Faith Robinson, Nicole Donnelly, Debbie Boen and I went to several of these meetings. This was a Conservation Lobby Day and dozens of environmental supporters from around the state attended. Our main focus was to support ending mountain top removal coal mining and reenacting bottle deposits which encourage recycling.

We felt pretty helpless and uncounted in our seats watching the hearings since neither bill we supported was even voted on in committee. However, we could tell that phone calls and emails to Senators and Representatives really have an impact on what happens in session.

While visiting our Clarksville Senator co-sponsoring this bill, Rosalind Kurita, she reminded us that Senators and Representatives have a rough and winding road to get bills passed – enduring frequent delays and other obstacles. Experience is critical to getting things done within this system. Senator Kurita was enthusiastic when she told us about her role on the Governor’s new task force to develop a Tennessee Comprehensive Energy Policy.

We also met with our Representative, Joe Pitts. “How are our issues doing?” asked Rep. Pitts as he took time out of his busy schedule to say hello and take a picture with Rossview High School students, Faith Robinson and Nicole Donnelly.

*SB 3822 Finney R.: Issuance of permits for surface mining.

This bill prohibits the department of environment and conservation from issuing permits related to surface mining until a new programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) addressing direct and indirect site specific and cumulative impacts is completed and a record of decision is published in the Federal Register by the office of surface mining.

Recommended action: Support this bill, attend the committee hearing. This bill would stop mountain top removal in Tennessee.

The Senate committee did not vote on 4/2/08 and re-scheduled the hearing for 4/9/08. Unfortunately, a House subcommittee voted to kill the bill and adjourned for the year. Therefore, this bill cannot be passed this year. However, let the Senators know your views because it will probably resurface next year.

As far as the action in the House, here are the votes for and against the bill. Legislators voting for the bill were Reps. Frank Buck, D-Dowelltown; Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville; and Mike Kernell, D-Memphis.

Those voting no were Reps. William Baird, R-Jacksboro; George Fraley, D-Winchester; Joe McCord, R-Maryville; Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains; and John Tidwell, D-New Johnsonville.

Some of this information was obtained from Knoxnews.com

The Senate met to discuss the same bill.

Senate Environment, Conservation & Tourism Committee members: Chair Kilby (D), Vice Chair Bunch (R), Secretary Jackson (D), R. Finney (R), Herron (D), Ketron (R), Roller (D), Southerland (R), M. Williams (I).

Senator Kilby, Chair, wanted to drop this bill several times but Senator Finney and Jackson argued successfully to put the bill back on the calendar for next week. They had to force the issue. Senator Bunch wanted to delay the vote for further study about the fiscal impact.

Debbie Boen overheard Senator Kilby telling someone in the hallway after session that he tried and tried and tried to kill it, but they wouldn’t let him. That’s how it went. We heard expert testimony to the effect that there is no agency or law that determines exactly how mountain top removal will be regulated and by whom.

Please thank Senators Finney and Jackson for insisting on taking action on this bill. Thank chair Tommy Kilby and Senator Bunch for taking the issue seriously at this time. Let him know that this is a very important issue to us and Tennessee and we want the Senate to lead our state in saving our mountains.

Bottle deposit bill

The other bill we were most interested in supporting, the bottle deposit bill, was put off for a week because there was no time to hear the case. Container deposit bills change behavior and are the single most effective tool yet devised to significantly and permanently reduce litter—more effective than curbside recycling, more effective than penalties, more effective than education programs, and certainly more effective than prisoner pickup programs.

Senate Government Operations — Wednesday at 2:00 pm
MEMBERS: Chair Harper (D), Vice Chair Marrero (D), Secretary O. Ford (D), Bunch (R), Crowe (R), J. Johnson (R), Stanley (R), Watson (R), Williams (I).

*SB 1408 Jackson: TN Deposit Beverage Container Act of 2007 (AKA the Bottle Bill). Requires deposit beverage distributors to pay a fee to the department a fee of one-half of one cent (increasing to three cents by July 2008) per deposit container and a separate deposit of 5 cents on each beverage in a deposit container manufactured in or imported to the state.

Recommended action: Support this bill, attend committee meeting.

SB 1408/HB 1829 creates the TN Beverage Container Act to increase recycling rates and reduce litter. This bill would place a refundable deposit on containers of beer, soda and other designated beverages. A large, nonpartisan coalition of organizations, including the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs, Cumberland Harpeth Chapter of the Audubon Society, Scenic Tennessee, TN Conservation Voters, Tennessee Scenic Rivers, Loudon County Commission, Maury County Commission, Maury County Farm Bureau, Lebanon Beautification Board, Davy Crockett Ruritan District, Trout Unlimited, Keep Bristol Beautiful, Kiwanis Club of Tellico Village, Recycle Rutherford, Boone Watershed Partnership, League of Women Voters of Tennessee and Tennessee Sierra Club support this legislation because:

A recent survey conducted by UT in which registered voters were asked if they would support a 5-cent refundable deposit on beverage containers as a way to reduce litter and increase recycling rates in Tennessee. An amazing 80.4 % of those polled said they would support such a bill–with almost half saying they would support it.
Improved recycling rates generate lower landfill costs. Many Tennessee counties currently pay in excess of $30/ton to landfill solid wastes.
In 2005, Tennessee was found to generate a total of almost 4 pounds of litter per person per year in Tennessee. In Maine, the state whose bottle bill most closely resembles the one we propose for Tennessee, the total litter generated per person was 4 ounces of litter per year.
TDOT is spending $5 – 6 million per year picking up trash along state roadways. Counties are spending up to $6.5 million per year on litter collection and cities are spending millions to pick up litter on their streets.

We need a new strategy.

Numerous surveys have found that in states without a bottle bill, beverage containers can make up the single largest category of roadside litter—typically 40 to 60 percent of the total Funds generated from unclaimed deposits are earmarked for continued funding of the county litter grants program.

In addition, it allots funds to reimburse counties or any lost tax revenue under the proposed change to the “greenbelt law.” Fifty percent of what is left will go to the distributors in the same proportion as they paid deposits in the first place; and the rest will be used for related purposes, such as litter control or recycling projects

States that tracked litter pre- and post-bottle bill reported a decrease in beverage container litter of as much as 84 percent , while overall litter decreased by as much as 64 percent . Container recycling rates increased from 10 % to 85% of containers sold and overall recycling rates in bottle bill states are an average of 30-35% compared to 10% in Tennessee.

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