TVA Today:
Daily news for employees

Tuesday, September 2, 2003

Working To Prevent a Blackout
Could a blackout – such as the one that occurred Aug. 14 in the northeastern and midwestern portions of the United States and in southern Ontario – happen in the Tennessee Valley?

Since all utilities in the Eastern Connection are tied together via the grid, it is possible. However, utilities take many precautions to protect their systems from disturbances elsewhere on the grid.

A new initiative that will help TVA “see its system” even better is the Power System Optimization Project. PSOP will help TVA reduce critical reliability risks, improve use of existing assets and provide greater flexibility for the future.

PSOP will capture accurate, real-time data on generation, transmission and customer operations. It also will improve the communications-system performance to make the data available on a real-time basis.

Currently, pilots are under way at Johnsonville and Kingston fossil plants; at large industrial customers Nissan, Westlake and Smurfit-Stone; at distributor-connection points in Memphis and Clinton, Tenn., and in Huntsville and Decatur Ala.; and at various locations on the transmission system.

PSOP will provide operators with more accurate data and better analysis tools to run generating plants more efficiently and move more electricity through the system.

More information on PSOP and TVA’s response and action plan following the Aug. 14 blackout will be included in the September issue of Inside TVA, which is scheduled to be distributed Sept. 9.

Contributed by Myra Ireland, Customer Communications

Team TVA Seeks Volunteers for Knoxville Walk for Diabetes
Team TVA needs volunteers from the Knoxville area to participate in America’s Walk for Diabetes on Sunday, Oct. 5.

At least 10 walkers are needed to form a team. Each team is asked to raise $100 per walker. Participants are asked to collect donations from family members, friends and co-workers before the walk.

Registration will begin at 1 p.m. on the day of the walk at the University Center Plaza on the University of Tennessee campus. The walk will start at 2 p.m.

Walk for Diabetes helps fund the American Diabetes Association’s non-profit work to prevent and cure diabetes and to improve the lives of people affected by the disease.

Anyone interested in participating should e-mail Robin Robinson or call her at 632-7119.

More information about Walk for Diabetes is available online at http://www.diabetes.org/walk.