TVA rates climb to cover cleanup costs

TVA coal ash cleanup surcharge adds a monthly charge to ratepayers' electric bills across seven states to fund Kingston Fossil Plant restoration after the 2008 spill, plus monitoring, fines, and lawsuit costs.

Sixty-nine cents more each month for 15 years.

That's what the typical TVA ratepayer is forking out on the average electric bill to cover the cost of a massive cleanup of the 2008 TVA coal ash spill.

That rate increase in the monthly charge went into effect without fanfare in October 2009 following a vote by the TVA board of directors.

It'll stay on ratepayers' bills until 2024.

The rate increase on bills sent to 9 million customers in seven states will generate about $6.25 million a month to pay for the cleanup at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant, according to TVA estimates.

The total cost of the cleanup is expected to be between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion.

The massive restoration effort by contractors is now going "faster than expected," TVA President and CEO Tom Kilgore said recently.

But, he said, "it's a little too early to revise the timetable" for that effort.

Besides, he said in a recent interview, "if I commit to faster, I will have to spend more money, and my real objective is to keep it contained and not spend more money."

Cleanup completion has been and remains targeted for 2014.

While total cleanup costs have been estimated, other expenses remain amid financial challenges for TVA, including state and federal fines, long-term environmental monitoring and any settlements from numerous lawsuits filed against TVA over the spill.

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