TVA Board Splits Data Centers Into Own Rate Class

✓What's documented TVA Board vote at its Aug. 20 public quarterly meeting in Memphis, with on-record figures from CFO Tom Rice and quotes from Memphis Mayor Paul Young.

The Tennessee Valley Authority's board voted to move data centers into their own rate class, separate from residential customers, with a roughly 10% base-rate increase for existing data centers phasing in starting Oct. 1. New data centers above 5 MW face an upfront capacity charge of about $1.5 million per megawatt, intended to keep hyperscale interconnection costs off other ratepayers' bills.

• TVA's board voted Aug. 20 to create a separate rate class for data centers; existing centers see a base rate increase of about 10%, phased in over three years starting Oct. 1.
• New data centers needing more than 5 MW face a new Capacity Commitment Charge: about $1.5 million per megawatt paid over three to five years.
• TVA CFO Tom Rice said the change reflects the federal utility's pledge, under the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge, to keep customer bills low despite data center growth.
• Memphis Mayor Paul Young publicly pushed for the new rate class, saying "the companies creating that demand should help pay for the generation and infrastructure that's required."