Lawsuit demands TVA release energy programs study info
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) — An environmental group is suing the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), claiming the agency has violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by not providing records related to an internal energy programs study.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC)’s suit suggests TVA is delaying release of a report that evaluated opportunities for “energy efficiency and demand response” programs that “could meet demand for electricity without requiring construction of new power plants.”
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The Energy Programs Potential Study was meant “to determine whether demand-side energy management could reduce or offset the need for new electricity generation as the agency retires its fleet of aging coal plants,” the suit claims.
The SELC filed the suit in federal court Tuesday in the Eastern District of Tennessee. The lawsuit requests that the court declare TVA in violation of FOIA and require it to determine what documents SELC has sought are exempt from disclosure and provide all non-exempt documents “without further delay.”
The organization is no stranger to TVA, both in and out of the courtroom. The suit notes the group has submitted public comments on TVA’s power generation plans and says its advocacy efforts are hampered “when the agency unlawfully delays access to public information like the Energy Programs Potential Study at issue in this matter.”
The suit describes more than nine months of back and forth with TVA’s FOIA officer, Denise Smith, starting in early 2023 as it sought records on the study. Smith informed SELC that due to the nature of the request and estimated processing time, it would be placed in “Track III” of TVA’s internal FOIA system, which covers requests that will take the longest to process.
The suit claims TVA hasn’t made a “valid determination” of what documents can and can’t be withheld, or met other requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.
The last communication from TVA came in late November 2023, according to the suit. That was four weeks after Smith wrote in an email that the team collecting the information “believe they can complete by the end of this month.”
TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said in response to a News Channel 11 request for comment that the agency “respects the judicial process and will not comment on pending litigation.”
The SELC lawsuit claims that information from TVA’s own study is critical as TVA prepares its “Integrated Resource Plan.” That plan is designed to ensure TVA can provide adequate and reliable electricity at the lowest system cost. It includes a requirement to “treat demand and supply resources on a consistent and integrated basis.”
TVA’s Brooks said the Energy Programs Potential Study hasn’t yet been published pending final review. And he said TVA does plan to release a draft of its Integrated Resource Plan for public review and comment later this spring, adding that it “will include scenarios that account for energy efficiency and demand response programs.”
Brooks said the agency announced it will invest $1.5 billion on energy efficiency and demand response programs the 2027 fiscal year as part of a $15 billion overall investment. That came in this announcement last August.
SELC argues that demand response and conservation programs could reduce the need for increased fossil fuel-based supply — something that’s occurred recently with the approval or construction of eight new methane power plants to replace phased-out coal plants.
TVA “justifies its decision to pursue methane gas, in part, by claiming that energy efficiency and demand response are not viable alternatives,” the suit says — yet won’t release a study that could suggest otherwise.
As TVA prepares future supply plans, “the agency shields its own evaluation of whether cost-effective, emissions-free resources could meet energy demand without building new power plants and pipelines.”
SELC provided the following statement:
“As the nation’s largest public utility, the Tennessee Valley Authority should be open and honest with its customers about how it is spending their money. Instead, TVA is hiding its own study of whether it can minimize the need for expensive new power plants and plowing ahead with plans to spend billions of ratepayer dollars on gas plants that harm families and communities across the Tennessee Valley.”
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