TVA approves rate hike to fund energy development

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors approved a 5.25% rate increase for the average resident.

This rate increase takes effect October 1, 2024.

In 2023, the average bill for customers was $138.  The increase will tack on $4.35 each month.

“We recognize that people don’t pay rates, they pay bills, and that matters.  We know this is a kitchen table issue for many families across our region.  At TVA, we don’t like price increases any more than you do, and that’s why we continually work to reduce expenses by hundreds of millions of dollars each year,” said TVA President and CEO, Jeff Lyash.

This year’s rate increase comes from growing regions.

$16 billion is being invested in 2027 towards infrastructure to meet the population demands.

TVA stated that after the 2023 increase of 4.5%, rates for residents were still lower than 75% of the top 100 U.S. utilities.

$350 million was recently approved to develop small modular reactors (SMRs) at TVA’s Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

SMRs take part in the strategy of transitioning to clean energy.

They not only reduce carbon emissions, but also provide more energy security.