TVA offers financial support to power companies
Tennessee Valley Authority announced Thursday $1 billion of support to assist local power companies affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
This support is in the form of bill deferments for local utilities that have difficulty paying their monthly power bill due to cash flow disruptions caused by local economic impacts of the outbreak.
"There are already many rumors about the TVA plan," said Bill Stone, general manager of the Holly Springs Utility Department, "but it is not bill forgiveness. It is a payment arrangement plan for utilities and while we will have to continue to pay all our TVA bills, this plan will give us more flexibility in working with our customers during this difficult time."
He said the City of Holly Springs will not be utilizing this option for the current month's bill.
"But we could find ourselves in need of it in the coming months should the impact from the outbreak continue," Stone said.
"As we constantly reassess this still evolving crisis, we realize that the only way we will make it through these trying times is by helping each other through the partnership which is the Tennessee Valley Public Power Model. We are committed to use every resource available to work with our end-use customers who are struggling through this crisis, while we're making sure to protect the system as a whole."
Jeff Lyash, TVA president and CEO, said the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on communities served by TVA is unprecedented and creates a degree of economic uncertainty in the weeks and months ahead.
"We recognize we have a responsibility to leverage TVA's resources and expertise to provide local power companies the stability and flexibility to address the unique challenges faced by their customers," Lyash said.
The new initiative builds on actions TVA has already taken to provide regulatory flexibility to allow local power companies to halt disconnection of electric service and respond quickly to their customers' immediate needs.
"The strength of public power is a passionate commitment to serve people over balance sheets," Lyash said. "This is perhaps more critical today than it has ever been.
"Our TVA team remains committed to working with all 154 of our local power company partners to benefit the communities and customers we jointly serve, especially during the challenging times."
Kevin Doddridge, general manager and CEO of Northcentral Electric Cooperative, said he is thankful for TVA's efforts and its partnership.
"We appreciate the flexibility that TVA is affording us to comply with the state's request that we suspend disconnection of services due to nonpayment," Doddridge said. "We'd like to impress, however, that all amounts are due. Members should make their best attempt to pay regularly, so they won't fall too far behind and have to catch up during the hot summer months when bills trend higher.
"TVA's extension of $1 billion in credit to local power companies could provide relief to utilities that may experience cash flow disruptions. Fortunately, Northcentral has established lines of credit that can be drawn on in such instances. As the details of the TVA program emerge, we may learn they may have a better offering."