Activists Want More Say in TVA expansions
By KELLI SAMANTHA HEWETT Staff Writer
If you thought the Lewis-Tyson fight seemed one-sided, listen to this. A group of Williamson County residents is challenging the $7 billion heavyweight champion of Southern electricity — the Tennessee Valley Authority.
The residents want other Middle Tennesseans to know that substations are planned for other growing areas in the region, and sometimes people don't know until land is cleared and lines go up near their back yards. And they want TVA and its distributors,
such as Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corp., to give them more voice when planning new transmission lines and substations. They also want these power companies to conserve energy, perhaps slowing or cutting the need for new lines and substations. Six more substations are proposed for Williamson County over the next eight years, with four more for Rutherford County and three for Wilson County.
Williamson County activist Dorene Bolze is leading the challenge against the planning methods that TVA and Middle Tennessee Electric use for new substations, such as this one near Cool Springs, and for power lines.The opposition in Williamson County is no ordinary group of disgruntled residents. As a county, they are among the most educated, most affluent people in the South, U.S. Census numbers indicate. Some come from other cities and have been in these fights before. They gained ammunition from a federal report this spring that raised questions about TVA's commitment to conservation. And they are winning the support of local officials.
Franklin aldermen and Williamson County commissioners last week passed resolutions supporting the residents' request for more environmental information from TVA on major expansions. One is the proposed Bingham substation, with lines to run across rivers, historic farms and the scenic route into Franklin from the Natchez Trace.
The twist is that, as a whole, Williamson County has had the biggest increase in customers and power in the service area, according to Middle Tennessee Electric. Electricity powers the gates in secluded communities, keeps landscaped fountains gurgling, computers humming and the temperature comfy all year.
Industry officials say they aren't in the conservation business and that the ultimate reduction is turning off gadgets and turning up the thermostat. As for the way they plan new lines and substations, well, that's their last resort. It's a complex process, they say, to ultimately ensure that the lights come on every time a customer flips the switch.
Substation surprise
Miles Johnson of Franklin got the substation surprise earlier this year. He lives with his wife and their son in The Enclave community on Cool Springs Boulevard. A new substation is under construction about 100 yards from his home. He found out from a neighbor. ''The element of surprise — that's the issue for me,'' Johnson said. ''It was a done deal before anyone knew about it.'' Johnson's wife, Diane, is a Realtor. Both knew that TVA had a right of way near their home.
''We had no idea TVA would put a substation in,'' Johnson said.
About three months ago, Johnson and his neighbor met with representatives from TVA and Middle Tennessee Electric, who work together on expansion projects. They walked the area and discussed plans. ''I asked if they really had to notify us, and the answer was, 'No,' '' Johnson said. The electric companies have eminent domain, which means they can ultimately put the substations and lines almost anywhere they decide in the name of public good.
Those are the kinds of surprises some residents and a growing number of elected leaders here want to stop. They hope to see a process where they are involved in the planning. ''We are not asking for the moon.
We are asking for more things that make sense in the 21st century, and we are willing to invest the time to make it happen,'' said Dorene Bolze of Franklin. Bolze has helped mobilize residents as director of the Harpeth River Watershed Association, a local environmental group.
Last week, Franklin aldermen and Williamson County commissioners passed resolutions supporting the effort — an unusual move for elected leaders. The residents want TVA to publicize environmental study results detailing what proposed substations and power lines might do to the land, water and other aspects of the place they call home. Other utilities are required by law to provide that kind of information on new projects. But because the federal government created TVA, it doesn't have to publicize as many details.
''It's been difficult getting information from Middle Tennessee Electric and TVA,'' said Dana McLendon, a Franklin alderman re-elected last fall as part of a ''smart-growth'' movement that swept the elections. ''They just sort of announce their plans and seem somewhat indignant when anyone questions them.''
Industry officials say it's a matter of keeping details from competitors in case federal law changes and allows competition, an explanation some Franklin residents and leaders aren't buying.
Modest conservation efforts
Residents also want TVA and Middle Tennessee Electric to help customers conserve more energy through residential rate incentives and other means. That, they say, could slow the need for lines and substations set to dot the landscape.
The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, reported that TVA's efforts to reduce customer demand was modest and needed improvement. For example, Florida Power and Light has a reduction plan that includes 20% of its customers. TVA's version of the plan involves 2%, according to the GAO report.
Industry officials say the programs here were never popular, and they can't force their customers to join. They say widespread conservation really isn't their business. They have alternative energy programs, such as TVA's Green Power Switch, where residents can pay a few dollars a month more for wind or solar power. They have school programs, customer information programs.
TVA also has voluntary rate-saving programs for large industrial customers to shut off their power during high-demand times. That's the only measure of success TVA has in terms of conservation.
''It's hard to estimate what's not there,'' said Jim Whitehead, TVA's manager of transmission planning. TVA's priority is providing reliable power at a reasonable cost.
''When you talk about conservation, people's bills are the ultimate control,'' said Gil Francis, a spokesman for TVA.
And while their customers guzzle more electricity than most of the country, Francis says the reasons are more complex than they may look. For one, most of the South relies on total electricity all year long, TVA says. But places such as New England, for example, use heating oil in the winter.
The population growth rate is also higher in the South. That means more homes and buildings are sprouting here more quickly. For example, Williamson County grew 56.3% in the 1990s, according to U.S. Census figures.
Soaring growth, usage
Sometimes, the planning for substations happens long before residents get there. Sometimes growth is so unexpected that TVA and its distributors aren't planning, but reacting, officials say.
Then, there's an increase in demand when big new homes are equipped with larger air-conditioning systems, multiple computers, TVs, stereos, floodlights and other power-sucking luxuries.
''We haven't seen any (smart-energy program) that could overcome the need'' for more power, said Jim Baker, president of Middle Tennessee Electric. Residents and elected leaders admit Williamson County contributes to its problems. Some folks still haven't learned the basics of smart energy.
''The good news is Williamson County residents tend to be more educated and open to education (about conservation),'' said McLendon, the Franklin alderman. ''If we are living that high on the hog, we can easily find ways for reducing consumption, more than some other areas.''
From 1991 to 2001, the number of Middle Tennessee Electric member-customers grew 68%. Electricity consumption in Williamson County doubled from 750 million kilowatt-hours to 1.5 billion kilowatt-hours. That includes residential and business customers.
Sometimes, industry officials buy land for substations years before they need them, to save money and prepare for the future. Residents say that can be a power play to ensure they get their way. Before industry officials formally decide on a new substation, they have public meetings, draw up options for routes, look at environmental factors and work toward an area where the fewest residents live, to minimize the effects.
In Williamson County, folks have focused on preserving scenic areas, historic farms and their rivers, which has made the Bingham substation such a sticking point. ''One of the last alternatives is a major new facility,'' Whitehead said. ''It's expensive, and it takes land away from the public. But we do have an obligation to keep the lights on.''
Opponents say the warnings about brownouts and blackouts is a scare tactic.
The TVA challenge
TVA and Middle Tennessee Electric officials emphasize that they hold public meetings for every expansion project. Residents complain it's a token effort that is too late to mean anything. The industry officials have had plenty of talks with the Williamson County residents.
''People want the power, but they don't want the power lines,'' Francis said.
The residents in this challenge aren't so sure TVA and its distributors have motivation to cut demand, especially when it's how they measure their success and profits. TVA is the largest public power company in the United States. Middle Tennessee Electric is the sixth-largest distribution cooperative in the nation.
TVA isn't set up to play by the same rules as other power companies. It was created in the 1930s by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his Depression-era plan, the New Deal. TVA didn't have to publicize a lot of the same details that other private energy companies report to their public service commissions.
The Williamson County residents want to persuade TVA to release the local environmental studies and work closely with them on local expansion planning. They enlisted one of the country's top utility-company challengers, Stephen Smith of Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in Knoxville.
''It is not a small step to challenge a $7 billion facility,'' said Smith, a native of the Franklin area. ''Many times, (TVA) intimidates people into submission. Very few people challenge them legally.'' Smith said he hopes it doesn't come to that. He and the residents want to work with TVA and Middle Tennessee Electric officials to improve planning and conservation.
''No one wants to say we can't have any new development,'' Smith said.
''We are saying it should be done in a smart, well-planned way. We are concerned the fact that the transmission and infrastructure are often built without anyone asking the tough questions.''
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Page Last updated on
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