TVA Wastes Their Time and Our Money
Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team/Mothers Against Tennessee River Radiation, a chapter of Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League, presented a report on Friday showing TVA’s "waste of money on nuclear power." The group called for a withdrawal of the operating license for Bellefonte nuclear power plant in Hollywood, Ala.
“TVA is not being transparent with the public about their debt and operational costs,” said Garry Morgan, BEST/MATRR treasurer. “They operate under a veil of fractured accounting making it very difficult to figure out their total financial status."
Tennessee Valley Authority’s debt is $24.344 billion with current interest on that debt of $23.205 billion rising. The total debt added together including bond debt and interest plus the Variable Interest Entity debt totals $49.748 billion, said BEST/MATRR officials. TVA's total long term commitments which include all debt, debt interest, fuel contracts, leases, litigation, financing charges, pension plan payment, etc. is $61.655 billion. The $5.4 billion Pension Plan shortage and nuclear decommissioning obligations are not included, said BEST/MATRR officials.
Meanwhile, the agency wants to change their pension fund arrangements for their employees in order to save money. This despite tying up assets on unneeded and mothballed Bellefonte 1 and 2 nuclear reactor sites and holding on to an operating license for likely never-to-be-built Bellefonte 3 and 4 reactors, said BEST/MATRR officials.
Lou Zeller, BREDL executive director, said “TVA should withdraw its application; There is no other legal avenue. TVA is wasting tens of millions of dollars annually propping up its twice-abandoned Bellefonte plant. Truly, it is a zombie reactor. It is time to face the facts. Today, we presented a fiscal analysis revealing fractured accounting and the staggering debt load which nuclear power has saddled onto TVA. Evidence favors withdrawal of the license application at Bellefonte.
“It would not be lawful, under any circumstances, for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to terminate the license proceeding for Bellefonte 3 and 4 without TVA’s withdrawal of the combined license application still pending before the NRC.”
BEST/MATRR maintains that spending money on unused nuclear plant sites and holding on to a nuclear license for building future nuclear reactors is wasted money given expense and safer alternatives. TVA has forecast no demand for extra power capacity until 2033. Presently demand for electricity is going down, said BEST/MATRR officials.
"As we move into a world of solar and wind energy, those sites could be used for safer economic alternatives without radioactive trash and with cleaner air and water for the health of our citizens,” said Gretel Johnston, BEST/MATRR member.
Additionally, TVA has $1.516 billion in its nuclear decommissioning fund required to safely close nuclear plants, said BEST/MATRR officials. According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the estimated cost for decommissioning a nuclear plant is $300-400 million/reactor while Reuters reports that the cost is likely $1.2 billion and rising. Since TVA’s six reactors are about the same age the bill will come due for all at about the same time. A seventh reactor is also being added. Watts Bar 2 begins commercial operation likely in December 2016 with a cost of $4.6 billion although the 37 years of site maintenance plus the $1.7 billion written off before restarting construction is not consider part of the cost and is not included. The actual cost is $10 billion with no electricity generated yet, said BEST/MATRR officials.