After focusing on power reliability following the impact of Winter Storm Elliot, the Tennessee Valley Authority announced that they remained reliable through last week’s frigid temperatures and have broken some of their own power provision records.
The TVA’s focus on reliability comes after Winter Storm Elliot in 2022 brought harsh winter weather to the region which impacted the TVA’s power reliability resulting in rolling blackouts in order to conserve power.
According to a news release from the TVA, since the winter storm the power provider has invested nearly $123 million and completed around 3,400 winter readiness procedures to ensure power reliability.
From January 15 through January 21 single-digit temperatures, snowfall and freezing rain descended upon the region, but the TVA’s reliability reportedly did not budge. While remaining reliable the increased power demand did drive their power peaks to new heights.
According to the TVA the power provider reached a new personal record for the highest power peak on January 17 producing 34,534 megawatts of power. The TVA then reportedly had their second highest peak on January 21 and the week overall was recorded as having the highest amount of power delivered to consumers in one week.
TVA Senior Vice President of Power Supply Operations, Aaron Melda says they started preparing for winter immediately following Winter Storm Elliot and were focused on getting it right for the customers who depend on them.
For 2024 the TVA says they plan to invest $120 million to further enhance power plant reliability.