All Set for Sunshine

TVA Fleet, Crews Ready for Summer Heat

Summer solstice may be the official start of summer – not to mention the longest day of the year – but the dog days are yet to come.

July and August typically bring summer’s hottest temperatures and highest demand for electricity – and Tennessee Valley Authority is prepared.

“We are ready to face the challenges that summer brings to the Valley,” Greg Henrich, TVA senior vice president of Transmission, said. “We’ve been working together across the enterprise to ensure reliability and proper planning, taking every step possible to carefully forecast the demand needs and plan for the requirements of the TVA system.”

Allen Clare, senior vice president of Generation, said his team has been carrying out robust hot-weather preparedness inspections and upgrades at TVA’s gas, hydro and coal plants.

“We don’t wait until temperatures start rising outside to ensure our units are ready for summer,” Clare said. “Our employees have been working for months to identify and execute close to 500 preventative maintenance activities on key equipment.”

Plant manager Keith McMillion surveys gas turbine parts staged for maintenance on Unit 2 at Ackerman Combined Cycle Plant in Choctaw County, Mississippi.

Plant by Plant

Thanks to crews around the seven-state region, TVA’s facilities are primed for any heat waves that might send Valley residents running for the neighborhood pool or ice cream parlor – and their air conditioners.

Among the summer readiness activities:

• Plant operators at the historic Ocoee dams in Polk County, Tennessee – and TVA’s 27 other hydroelectric facilities – are keeping a close eye on temperatures and pressures so they can run units at full power, even on the hottest days.
• Near Paducah, Kentucky, crews of skilled craftspeople at Shawnee Fossil Plant have completed weeks-long maintenance deep-dives. Similar work has been performed on generating units at other plants.
• The team at Kemper Combustion Turbine Plant in Kemper County, Mississippi, is rolling out upgraded controls and tuning units to operate at a higher temperature and greater megawatt capacity. Many of TVA’s older gas turbines at other sites are also undergoing those upgrades.
• TVA has improved the output and reliability of its nuclear plants – Sequoyah, Watts Bar and Browns Ferry – which together have the capacity to generate approximately 8,725 megawatts of baseload power. During the most recent maintenance outages, crews completed additional work to prepare equipment for hot weather and summer load demands.
• Beyond TVA’s own generating fleet, contracts are in place for about 5,000 megawatts of purchased power to help meet demand peaks.
• Demand response agreements, along with energy efficiency and energy storage solutions, are ready to help manage demand peaks and grid performance.

A crew from TVA’s Power Service Shops conducts transformer testing at the switchyard of the Ackerman plant, which can generate 713 megawatts, enough to power more than 417,000 homes.

The Wide View

Zooming out to compile the big picture on summer readiness at all 51 of TVA’s gas, hydro and coal plants is the work of fleet performance manager Calandra Jones and her team of engineers and data analysts.

During the months leading up to summer, they monitor everything from the generation capacity impacted by spring maintenance projects – 4,326 megawatts this year – to the price volatility of fuel.

“We’re working together in a coordinated effort to ensure that every perspective is seen in one place,” Jones said. “My team is in the middle saying, ‘Here's the big picture from every angle to ensure everything is in place so we can serve our customers well.’”

Photo Gallery

Fleet performance manager Calandra Jones and her team track summer readiness across all 51 of TVA’s gas, hydro and coal plants.

Ackerman maintenance mechanic Donnie Broadhead performs alignment on a motor and pump.

Piles of color-coded scaffolding at the ready for summer readiness maintenance at Ackerman.

PHOTO AT TOP OF PAGE: With the official start of summer and the mercury climbing into the 90s, TVA’s power system is ready to meet the high demand for electricity.