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Electric co‑ops tell committee Tennessee must invest to meet rising demand and weather risks
Summary
Leaders from the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association and Middle Tennessee Electric presented a UT Baker School study outlining challenges — rising load growth, more frequent physical shocks, fuel volatility and affordability pressures — and urged investment in generation, transmission, advanced nuclear and batteries while urging policy stability for TVA decisions.
Chris Jones, CEO of Middle Tennessee Electric, and Justin Meyerhoffer of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association presented findings from the UT Baker School report "Powering Tennessee: Challenges and Opportunities." Jones said the state faces renewed electricity load growth after years of flat demand and that utilities must invest in new generation and transmission to meet future needs. "We have this kind of crisscross of challenges where now we're seeing growth picking up," he told the committee.
Both presenters emphasized the role of extreme weather and cyber/physical risks exposed by a recent winter storm and the need to balance affordability with reliability. Jones highlighted TVA's planned additions ("about 6,000 new megawatts of capacity") and argued for an "abundance mindset" while also urging the legislature to reduce policy uncertainty that can derail long‑term, capital‑intensive projects. "These are long term assets that pay great dividends over many, many years," Jones said of nuclear projects.
