Senate confirms Tennessee Valley Authority nominees

The Senate confirmed two Tennessee Valley Authority nominees on Tuesday.

The Senate voted 86-12 to confirm the nomination of Virginia Lodge and 86-12 on the nomination of Ronald Walter — both will serve on the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

{mosads}The TVA is a corporation owned by the federal government that provides low priced power to southeastern states.

Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said the TVA has a responsibility to ensure the power it provides is safe and clean, particularly the energy that comes from coal-fired power plants and nuclear facilities.

“TVA has an essential responsibility to the communities it serves, including providing power to approximately 9 million people,” Boxer said at Lodge and Walter’s confirmation hearing last month. “TVA has an important mandate to be a national leader in technological innovation, low-cost power, and environmental stewardship.”

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), who will become chairman of the EPW Committee next year, said he fears the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest regulations aiming to reduce carbon emissions of coal-fired power plants would harm the country and more specifically consumers who get their power from the TVA. 

“TVA needs to evaluate how its specific region will be affected so that the people who live there know how EPA’s policies are going to affect them,” Inhofe said. “This is what I plan to focus on in the coming months, and I look forward to better understanding how these things will affect TVA and its customers.”

The Senate also confirmed two ambassadors and two commissioners by voice-vote. Peter McKinley will serve as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Richard Verma will be U.S. ambassador to India. And Tony Hammond and Nanci Langley were confirmed to be commissioners of the Postal Regulatory Commission.