Energy and Utilities Policy

The Tennessee Valley Authority, the nation’s largest public utility, has filed new documents indicating it now wants to remove planned retirement dates for its Kingston and Cumberland coal-fired power plants in Tennessee, even as it proceeds with building new natural gas units at both sites. TVA had previously committed to shutting its remaining coal fleet by 2035 as part of an 80% emissions‑reduction goal by 2035 and net‑zero by 2050, but now cites regulatory changes under President Trump and surging electricity demand—especially from AI-driven data centers, which it says rose to 18% of industrial load in 2025 and could double by 2030—as reasons to keep the coal units available. The shift comes just after Trump removed enough Biden‑appointed TVA board members to block a quorum, then installed a new majority of coal‑friendly directors who will meet Wednesday in Kentucky and must approve any formal reversal. Environmental and clean‑energy groups accuse TVA of abandoning its own rationale for new gas plants—retiring coal—and of extending toxic pollution for communities around Kingston and Cumberland without any public board debate, arguing the utility is again choosing fossil fuels over more aggressive renewables and efficiency. The move positions TVA as an early test case of how AI‑related power demand and Trump‑era deregulatory orders are being used to justify slowing or reversing coal retirements across the U.S. grid.