KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — As discussions of data centers that require high power loads continue to develop, the Tennessee Valley Authority is considering changing its rates in a way to accommodate the growing demands without placing undue cost increases on residents.
On Tuesday, the TVA shared a letter with 6 News that it sent to local power companies in February to begin the rate-changing process. The utility provider explained that it has continued to have frequent discussions with those local power companies and other customers about the proposed changes, and the TVA will be proposing actions for implementation to its board of directors in August at the earliest.
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TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks explained that in the last year, data centers made up around 18% of the TVA’s overall industrial load, and that number is expected to double by the year 2030. Brooks said 99% of data centers it provides power for are connected to local power providers, like KUB, and if it approved all of the data centers interested in coming to East Tennessee, there would be an increased power demand of 11,000 megawatts.
“As a public power provider, TVA is not saying no, but we’re saying ‘yes, but,’” Brooks said. “The ‘but’ is you need to work with local power providers if that’s where you’re going to connect and make sure that they can handle the load without putting a strain or an additional burden on their customers.”…