The Tennessee Valley Authority’s power system remained reliable and resilient during the latest heat wave that saw temperatures as high as 100 degrees in some locations across TVA’s seven-state region, it said on Aug. 30.
The heat drove power demand on the system to the highest levels this summer, 31,096 megawatts at 3 p.m. CT on Thursday.
In June, TVA experienced 13 total days with a daily peak over 28,000 megawatts including a seven-day consecutive streak. For context, based on the last 10 years, it is typical for TVA to experience an average of around three total days over 28,000 megawatts in June.
“We started summer preparations this spring, learning from the record power loads set during Winter Storm Heather last January,” Aaron Melda, TVA Senior Vice President of Power Supply Operations, said. “We invested in 75 major reliability projects at our coal, gas and hydro units this spring to make sure we were ready for summer. Our focus was on making the critical investments needed to ensure energy security for the people of the region – this means providing reliable energy to meet growing electricity demand at the most affordable cost.
“We are grateful to our employees, and our local power company partners, who worked around the clock to ensure we were able to successfully supply power to keep everyone cool and safe during these extreme heat conditions.”
Because the region’s population is growing three-times faster than the national average, TVA is investing nearly $16 billion through FY27 to build additional generation and infrastructure while also enhancing reliability, it noted.
TVA is building about 3,500 megawatts of additional generation “and has made great progress by completing 1,400 megawatts and securing 800 megawatts of solar just this year,” it said.
