Bill Overview
Title: Tennessee Valley Authority Transparency Act of 2022
Description: This bill revises the duties of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Board of Directors to include holding public meetings. The board must provide public notice at least six days before such a meeting, unless the meeting is designated as an emergency. The TVA provides low-cost electricity in seven southeastern states. It also provides flood control, navigation, and land management for the Tennessee River system.
Sponsors: Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2]
Target Audience
Population: People served by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Estimated Size: 10000000
- The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provides services to over 10 million people spread across seven southeastern states in the United States.
- The TVA is responsible for electricity provision, flood control, navigation, and land management, meaning those reliant on these services would be directly impacted by any changes increasing transparency and public participation.
- The Tennessee Valley areas most directly impacted lay in Tennessee, and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.
- The population impacted will generally be customers of TVA's electricity and users of the Tennessee River system services like navigation and flood management.
Reasoning
- The policy's main aim is to increase transparency and public participation in the TVA's operations, which would result in different levels of impact depending on reliance and engagement with TVA services.
- Considering the TVA serves approximately 10 million people in a geographically concentrated yet large area, we assume a mixed level of interest and impact on people's wellbeing depending on how engaged they are with electricity, flood control planning, and other TVA services.
- The policy budget suggests it is not a massive overhaul but rather a funded initiative to make processes more transparent. This means it probably affects public engagement and administration costs rather than changing the fundamental TVA services.
- Interviews are chosen to reflect a variety of individuals who either rely on or are slightly detached from TVA operations to see varying impacts on their wellbeing due to increased transparency.
Simulated Interviews
Engineer (Knoxville, Tennessee)
Age: 45 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 15/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I'm optimistic about the TVA's transparency act. It gives us more insight and influence over local decisions, especially the power pricing and environmental impacts.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 6 |
Environmental Scientist (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
Age: 30 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 20.0 years
Commonness: 12/20
Statement of Opinion:
- More transparency could help address environmental concerns I've had with the TVA processes.
- I believe this will ultimately improve community relationships and environmental protections.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 9 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 9 | 7 |
Retired Teacher (Florence, Alabama)
Age: 62 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 10/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I hope the transparency leads to better flood control measures that could directly influence my safety during rainy seasons.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 5 |
Software Developer (Huntsville, Alabama)
Age: 28 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 1.0 years
Commonness: 18/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I don't see how board meetings will affect me much unless rates go down.
- I'm neutral about this policy.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 8 |
Small Business Owner (Jackson, Mississippi)
Age: 52 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 14/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This policy should help keep electricity pricing fair with more oversight from the public. This could positively impact my business expenses.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 6 |
Researcher (Louisville, Kentucky)
Age: 40 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 8/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Increased transparency might enrich local data available for my research and help me understand the impacts better.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 6 |
College Student (Bristol, Tennessee)
Age: 22 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 9
Duration of Impact: 0.0 years
Commonness: 20/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I don't have much interaction with TVA, so public meetings don't concern me directly.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 9 | 9 |
| Year 2 | 9 | 9 |
| Year 3 | 9 | 9 |
| Year 5 | 9 | 9 |
| Year 10 | 9 | 9 |
| Year 20 | 9 | 9 |
TVA Employee (Asheville, North Carolina)
Age: 55 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 6/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This initiative emphasizes transparency, which is good, but it might add to my workload with more meetings and reporting.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 5 |
Chef (Decatur, Alabama)
Age: 33 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 11/20
Statement of Opinion:
- I'm curious if the meetings will address navigation issues which affect my supply routes.
- I hope for prompt decision making.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
Environmental Activist (Knoxville, Tennessee)
Age: 48 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 10.0 years
Commonness: 9/20
Statement of Opinion:
- This increased transparency is a step in the right direction for accountability.
- I hope it leads to more sustainable policies moving forward.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 5 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 5 |
Cost Estimates
Year 1: $2000000 (Low: $1500000, High: $2500000)
Year 2: $2100000 (Low: $1600000, High: $2600000)
Year 3: $2205000 (Low: $1680000, High: $2730000)
Year 5: $2320000 (Low: $1760000, High: $2880000)
Year 10: $2550000 (Low: $1920000, High: $3150000)
Year 100: $5100000 (Low: $3840000, High: $6300000)
Key Considerations
- The policy enhances transparency and public participation without drastically altering TVA's current operations.
- Cost projections assume gradual increases akin to inflation and modest efficiency gains in operations.
- Long-term impact might emerge due to public engagement influencing TVA policy adjustments that align closely with regional needs.