TVA Briefly Evacuates Raccoon Mountain Plant as Precaution

November 9, 2007

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – TVA safely shut down and evacuated all non- operations staff for about two hours today at its Raccoon Mountain Pumped Storage power facility near Chattanooga after plant staff heard loud noises in one of the generating units.

Operators identified a malfunctioning valve in Unit 2 of the four-unit plant and sealed off the water flowing to that unit and to Unit 1 from the reservoir on top of the mountain. TVA shut down Unit 3, which was the only unit generating power at the time, as a precautionary measure. The incident occurred at 9:30 a.m. EST.

The plant staff returned to work after operators conducted a complete walk- down inspection of the plant. A small leak on a water line upstream from the malfunctioning valve on Unit 2 was discovered during the inspection.

“Everything is under control at the plant, and there is no danger to employees or the public,” said TVA Senior Vice President of River Operations Janet Herrin. “The plant staff took the appropriate steps, safely shutting down the plant and evacuating everyone as a precaution, except the operations staff needed to isolate the problem and inspect the plant. This was an internal plant issue, and there was no downstream danger.”

A technical team from TVA and Voith Siemens, the private contractor that supplies equipment and components for the plant, will repair the valve and determine what caused it to malfunction. TVA staff is already on site, and the Voith Siemens technical team is on the way to the plant. The plant will be returned to service as soon as the necessary repairs are made. There is no damage estimate available at this time.

Raccoon Mountain has a generating capacity of 1,600 megawatts. During periods of low power demand, water is pumped from Nickajack Reservoir to a mountaintop reservoir. When power is needed, water is released from the storage reservoir through a tunnel drilled through the center of the mountain to drive the generators in the underground power plant.

TVA is the nation’s largest public power provider and is completely self- financing. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve approximately 8.7 million consumers in seven southeastern states. TVA also manages the Tennessee River and its tributaries to provide multiple benefits, including flood damage reduction, navigation, water quality and recreation.

Media Contact

Barbara Martocci, Knoxville, (865) 632-8632
TVA News Bureau, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000

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