The Tennessee Valley Authority’s Bull Run Fossil Plant is pictured above in Claxton on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Note: This story was updated at 8:50 p.m.

An assessment by the Tennessee Valley Authority will evaluate its power generators, including the coal-burning Bull Run Fossil Plant in Claxton, and determine whether the plants will be needed in the future, a spokesperson said Monday.

The focus of the assessment, which could take three to six months, will be on plants that are the least efficient, least cost-effective, and expected to have the highest future costs, TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks said. Plants that fit into that category are the Bull Run Fossil Plant, the one remaining unit (Unit 3) at the Paradise Fossil Plant in western Kentucky near Drakesboro, and combustion turbines (gas turbines), Brooks said. The assessment will look at whether TVA needs Bull Run or Paradise or combustion turbines in the future.

No decisions have been made yet, Brooks said.

He said TVA is assessing its entire generating asset base, including coal, nuclear, natural gas, and hydropower. The public utility is always evaluating its energy mix and making decisions, Brooks said. TVA President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Johnson cited a “mismatch” between energy supply and customer demand, according to S&P Global, which attended a quarterly TVA board meeting in Knoxville on Wednesday.

The results of the assessment will be provided to the TVA board of directors. It’s not clear yet if the assessment will include a recommendation to the board, but the board could make a decision based on the assessment. [Read more…]