TVA Today:
Daily news for employees

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Flags at Half-Staff Today in Honor of Sept. 11 Victims
U.S. flags at TVA and other government facilities are being flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset today for Patriot Day, which honors the memory of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

This is in accordance with a Presidential Proclamation.

Employees at several TVA sites across the Tennessee Valley today are commemorating Patriot Day in various ways. (See the Sept. 10 TVA Today in the archives.) Many employees plan to observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. EDT in memory of the Sept. 11 victims.

Congressman Cooper Introduces Bill To Expand TVA Board
Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee introduced legislation yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives that calls for the expansion of the TVA Board.

The bill is very similar to the bill U.S. Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee reintroduced this June. (See the June 27 TVA Today in the archives for more information about Frist’s bill.)

One key difference between the two bills is that Frist’s version requires all nine members of an expanded Board to be from the TVA service area. Cooper’s bill says five of the members must be from the TVA service area, while the remaining four members would not have any regional limitations. Cooper’s bill also includes a preference for the selection of Board members with specific experience in the power industry.

Both bills call for the creation of a nine-member, part-time TVA Board made up of experts in corporate management and strategic decision-making. Each member would receive an annual stipend of $30,000, as well as per diem expenses not to exceed $10,000 per year. The bills call for the Board to appoint a Chief Executive Officer to manage TVA full time.

In his press release, Cooper says his bill is no reflection on the current TVA Board, which he says has been operating under the constraints imposed on TVA by a 70-year-old law. “This bill will bring in fresh perspectives and give the Board more flexibility to act strategically,” Cooper says.

TVA is always ready to work with members of the Tennessee Valley delegation. TVA currently is analyzing Cooper’s bill and has provided information to the offices of Frist and TVA Caucus Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander on the potential impacts such legislation could have on TVA, its ratepayers and bondholders.

TVA’s position is that any changes as fundamental as those contemplated in such legislation must be cautiously considered. However, any change in the structure of the Board is ultimately up to Congress and the President.

TVA To Lower Level of Cedar Creek Reservoir
TVA will lower water levels at Cedar Creek Reservoir about 16 feet below the normal winter level this fall.

The drawdown will begin Sept. 15 and continue until the water reaches an elevation of 550 feet above sea level on Nov. 15.

The Water Works & Sewer Board of Russellville, Ala., requested the drawdown for construction of a new water-intake structure. During the drawdown, workers will build a temporary cofferdam at the intake site. The cofferdam will keep the water around the site dry so work on the intake can be completed when the reservoir is at normal winter level.

The construction of the water intake is scheduled to be completed by the end of November, and the reservoir is expected to return to normal winter levels in January 2004.

Lakefront property owners and users of the reservoir can take advantage of the lower levels to do repair work on docks and conduct neighborhood lakefront cleanups. They can call Jim Shedd with TVA at 256-386-2739 for cleanup locations, TVA trash bags and gloves for litter pickup.

TVA Chapter of Women in Nuclear Working To Boost Membership
An effort is under way to increase the membership of the Women in Nuclear chapter at TVA. The chapter currently includes more than 100 members, and a planning committee has been formed with the goal of making the TVA WIN chapter a leader industrywide.

Despite its name, the organization is not limited to women. Men who support key goals of WIN – essentially to participate in the sharing of knowledge about the nuclear industry – are welcome to join.

Watts Bar Nuclear Plant employees Jennifer Wilson and Cindy Ledbetter are leading the effort to strengthen interest and membership in the TVA chapter. Sandy Cook-Campbell in TVA Nuclear Corporate and Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant employee Marilyn Reeves have worked with Wilson and Ledbetter in these efforts.

“TVA has always been a leader in the utility industry, and Cindy and I hope the TVA WIN chapter will help to further TVA’s leading role through educating our employees and the public,” says Wilson.

Since January, Wilson and Ledbetter have conducted monthly technical meetings open to any nuclear employee. They also will have a WIN information booth set up at the Refueling Outage Kick-Off at Watts Bar.

Meeting topics have included the tritium project at Watts Bar, the steam-generator-replacement project at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant, energy restructuring and mentoring. Scheduled topics for future meetings include the process of the nuclear-fuel cycle, the power-uprate project and the coordination of Transmission/Power Supply and TVA Nuclear operations.

Interested in joining?
Any nuclear employee interested in finding out more about the group or in becoming a member should call or e-mail Wilson (365-8806) or Ledbetter (365-1582).

Background information about WIN
The Women in Nuclear Global organization has chapters in 54 countries. It was created in 1993 by a small group of women working in nuclear and radiological fields. In addition to promoting understanding through communication, WIN Global provides a forum for networking, both face to face and electronically.

WIN Global held a meeting in 1999 in Washington, D.C., attracting 175 participants – including many U.S. women, who began to explore the possibility of creating a national WIN group. They agreed on a threefold purpose for the U.S. WIN organization:

1. To support an environment in nuclear energy and nuclear technologies in which women are able to succeed.
2. To provide a network through which women in the industry can further their professional development.
3. To provide an organized association through which the public is informed about nuclear energy and nuclear technologies.

In June 2000, some 220 people met in Las Vegas for the first U.S. WIN national meeting to exchange information and ideas on how to succeed in the nuclear industry. The meeting included a tour of the proposed used-fuel repository at Yucca Mountain.

By June of this year, U.S. WIN had grown to more than 1,150 members. Members include plant managers, chief nuclear officers, site vice presidents and the director of a national laboratory. Currently, there are more than 17 active chapters, and the organization is growing rapidly.

Knoxville IAAP Recognition Dinner Monday Night
The Knoxville Chapter of the International Association of Administrative Professionals will have a recognition dinner Monday, Sept. 15, at the Foundry World’s Fair Site in Knoxville.

The event, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., is to honor area administrative professionals who recently have achieved the certification or recertification of Certified Professional Secretary or Certified Administrative Professional. Following a registration and networking period, the dinner is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $25 per person, payable at the door, and checks should be made out to Knoxville Chapter IAAP. For more information, e-mail Mary Wilson or Regina Bevins with TVA.