Congressman Cohen Calls on TVA to Pause Vote on Changes to Kingston, Cumberland Fossil Plants Until Public Can Weigh In

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today sent a letter to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors raising serious concerns about TVA's recent issuance of Supplemental Environmental Impact Statements (SEISs) for the Kingston and Cumberland Fossil Plants, and urging TVA to postpone any vote on the proposals until the public has a full and open opportunity to review and comment.

In the letter, Congressman Cohen warned that TVA appears to have advanced the SEISs without public notice, public meetings, or an opportunity for public comment specific to the newly proposed alternatives.

"This process was conducted without public notice or opportunity for comment, which undermines the deliberate transparency that the National Environmental Policy Act is designed to ensure," Congressman Cohen wrote. "The practical effect of this approach is to take the 'public' out of public power."

Congressman Cohen noted that TVA previously made formal commitments-through duly noticed NEPA processes and Records of Decision-to retire coal units at Kingston and Cumberland and transition to replacement generation. He wrote that the new SEISs would effectively reverse that course by proposing continued coal operations alongside new gas generation at both sites and, at Kingston, abandoning previously approved on-site solar.

Congressman Cohen also raised concerns about costs and safety, warning that "Continuing to operate aging coal units while simultaneously constructing and operating new gas facilities is not a least-cost outcome. These coal plants are expensive to maintain, require significant ongoing capital investments to comply with environmental requirements, and expose TVA customers to fuel price volatility."

Given that TVA is scheduled to consider these matters at its February 11 Board meeting, Congressman Cohen urged the agency to delay action until stakeholders-including local communities, environmental advocates, and elected officials-can review the proposals and provide input.

Click hereto read the full letter.

Congressman Cohen has long worked to protect Memphis and Tennessee's 9th District's clean air, clean water, and public health, and has repeatedly urged TVA not to replace aging coal with fossil gas infrastructure that would lock communities into decades of volatile fuel costs and pollution. In 2024, he wrote to TVA and urged it to reconsider its focus on expanding gas-fired power generation. In 2023, he wrote to TVA urging them to chart a path to 100 percent clean energy by 2035. And in 2022, he wrote TVA urging them to reconsider plans tied to the Cumberland Fossil Plant-including new gas generation and a new pipeline-and instead prioritize energy efficiency, renewables, and storage while moving to retire coal units.

Congressman Cohen has introduced legislation to strengthen transparency and accountability in TVA's long-term power planning, including the TVA Increase Rate of Participation (IRP) Act, which would expand public participation in TVA's Integrated Resource Plan process and require TVA to account for key reliability, affordability, and environmental factors in that planning.

Congressman Cohen has also introduced legislation to ensure that the rapid growth of data centers and cryptomining does not come at the expense of clean air, affordable power, and responsible energy generation-an issue of growing relevance as TVA faces rising electricity demand. Click here to learn more about the Clean Cloud Act.