§831m–1 Tennessee Valley Authority Least-cost Planning Program

Summary

The Tennessee Valley Authority must run a least-cost planning program. It must pick new energy resources by comparing all options — new power supplies, energy conservation and efficiency, and renewable energy — so customers get reliable service at the lowest total system cost. The process must consider things like diversity, reliability, dispatchability, and other risks. It must be able to verify and count energy savings and check that those savings last over time. Demand-side and supply-side choices must be treated the same. “System cost” means all direct, measurable net costs over a resource’s life, including making, moving, using energy, handling waste, meeting environmental rules, and, for imported energy, keeping access to foreign sources. TVA must let its distributors propose cost-effective efficiency, rate incentives, and renewable ideas and must help them plan and carry these out, including using associations and tools like publications, workshops, one-on-one help, money or loans, and studies. Before adding any major new energy resource, TVA must allow public review and comment and describe the action in its annual report to the President and Congress. TVA is not subject to other federal least-cost planning rules or similar requirements tied to its deals with the Southeastern Power Administration.