Old TVA logo, Fair Use Rights for news and criticism
A byline to this could be - Never Allow So Called Conservative Politicians in the TVA Area to Say They Support Conservative Values, Ever Again. Every federal elected legislator and 99% of the elected state legislators in the TVA support the socialist organization we call the TVA.
Every so often, about once a quarter the TVA places forward financial statements and follows up with copious propaganda regarding these statements. There is an effort to report and deceive at the same time. Reporting the condition of OUR TVA is important, being deceptive about it is hiding the truth about its failures facilitates a growing governmental turn to corporate fascism.
My Report
Opening Remarks - TVA Debt - There is no doubt that under TVA's current CEO, Bill Johnson, TVA's debt picture has improved, but is the Federal power agency still in trouble, to my way of thinking yes. Any private corporation would have gone under years ago because of the waste, abuse and down right deceit. There have been two relevant bits of news about TVA's debt which has surfaced within the past week. Those who follow the TVA's financial actions should see a clear pattern which has developed. Instead of news agencies reporting factual events regarding TVA debt they are falling prey to TVA propaganda, this is bothersome. I think, rather than report the truth, they are afraid of TVA's reaction to them, and possibly large financial institutions actions pointed at a civilian news groups accurate reporting .
>By the numbers - Why these conclusions?
>1. Chattanooga Times Free Press article on June 5, 2015: http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/jun/05/privatizing-tvwould-raise-ratesstudy-criticiz/308025/ The article summary -
"A new study commissioned by the Economic Policy Institute suggests that selling or privatizing the Tennessee Valley Authority would raise power costs and hurt economic development and research in TVA's seven-state region...The liberal think tank is not often at odds with President Barack Obama and supportive of the positions of conservative Southern Republicans. But on the question of cutting federal ties to America's biggest government utility, researchers for the Economic Policy Institute are in agreement with Tennessee's GOP lawmakers and against an Obama administration plan to phase out the federal role in the New Deal agency created in 1933 by President Franklin Roosevelt..."
(a) EPI, Dr. Yudken's comments - ""Over its 80-year existence, the TVA has had an excellent track record in almost every area of its operation, and its success has delivered substantial benefits throughout the Tennessee Valley," Dr. Joel Yudken, an economist and principal of High Road Strategies LLC, concluded in a 44-page study of TVA's finances. "The TVA is addressing its serious financial problems and its new leadership is preserving its capabilities as a system that provides wide-ranging benefits to the region and people it serves.""
Big claim, "excellent track record," but is it true? The answer is, in my opinion, NO, Yudken's opinion is fallacy mixed with fact. Reason, TVA's debt with interest and commitments exceeds its assets. But, TVA has improved its slide into the financial abyss by approximately $2 billion dollars concerning its bond debt. But is TVA's financial picture a slight of hand accounting trick perpetuated by this so called "liberal think tank" of financial genius which the Time Free Press mentions? My opinion, YEP.
(b) Nuclear Power is "Cleaner Energy" (pg11) One other important point, in the EPI Yudken report, nuclear energy is placed into the category of clean energy. Falling in lock step with the NEI, Nuclear Enrgy Institute, special interest position. Nuclear power is not clean in any sense of the the word clean or cleaner. Nuclear power has produced and continues to produce millions upon millions of pounds of deadly radioactive waste with no definitive solutions for its disposal.
(c) Coal vs Nuclear power is a false mantra facilitated by nuclear special interest groups.The replacement of coal fired generation with nuclear power is not a move into cleaner energy. It increases risks of a disaster on the scale of Fukushima Daiichi or greater.
EPI Report - http://media-cdn.timesfreepress.com//news/documents/2015/06/04/862405499801752.pdf
But that is not all, anyone who ignores the fact that TVA has wasted over $20 billion dollars due to unnecessary nuclear power construction, and intentionally ignores that fact in a report, "ain't right."
>2. On June 2, 2015 TVA distributed an 8K Report concerning a change to one of TVA's $1,000,000,000.00, one billion dollar, loans. That change, linked below, states as follows:
"On June 2, 2015, TVA executed an amendment to its $1,000,000,000 credit agreement dated as of June 25, 2012, and amended as of December 12, 2012, with The Bank of New York Mellon, Bank of America, N.A., Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, New York Agency, First Tennessee Bank National Association, Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., and Toronto Dominion (New York) LLC.
The amendment, among other things,
(1) extended the maturity date of the credit agreement from June 25, 2017, to June 2, 2020,
(2) gave TVA the option to extend the maturity date by one year up to two times, subject to lender approval,
(3) reduced the TVA credit rating threshold that would allow the lenders to stop making credit extensions from lower than A3 or A- to lower than Baa1 or BBB+,
(4) reduced the TVA credit rating threshold that would allow the lenders to terminate their commitments and require the prepayment of loans and other obligations in full and the cash collateralization of all letter of credit obligations from lower than A3 and A- to lower than Baa1 and BBB+, and
(5) reduced the TVA credit rating threshold that would trigger an event of default from lower than Baa2 and BBB to lower than Baa3 and BBB-. A copy of the amendment is filed as Exhibit 10.1." (linked below)
Since when is a billion dollar 3 year credit extension good for rate payers? Is this a sign for things to come, for instance a lowering of the credit rating, again?
>3. When a financial report is issued by the TVA, the TVA immediately follows up with "painting a rosy picture" propaganda article, and the local media complies with the propaganda ministry's request and all fall in lock step with the wonderful flute tunes of the pied piper of propaganda's writings.
Looking at TVA's last 10 K report reveals the seriousness of the problem. Debt + interest exceeds assets.
April 2015 - This is an article I sent around in April, after Bill Johnson's comments:
CEO Bill Johnson attempts to paint a rosy picture. But when the numbers are crunched there is trouble in the TVA. Bragging about being under the debt cap does not restructure the fact TVA's debt and obligations far exceed assets. http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2015/apr/23/tva-debt-stays-below-federal-cap/300288/
Crunching the numbers - Here is the real picture based on the data supplied in TVA's 2014 10K Report.
Total Statutory debt - $23.6 billion; 2014 VIE (Sevier Ponzi scheme, gas plant financing) Debt - $1.3 billion.
Total interest on both debt catagories $23.7 billion.
Total bond, VIE debt with interest is $48.6 billion of your dollars.
TVA's total assets as reflected on their financial statement - $45.6 billion dollars.
Debt with interest exceeds assets, for a normal business that spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E, with or without a capital "T."
Ladies and Gentleman, that is not counting Pension obligations, nuclear decommissioning obligations, leases and future fuel purchases, which is another obligation of approximately $20-25 billion.
Link to TVA Financials, 10K etc - (pg 61, 82 and others) http://www.snl.com/IRWebLinkX/FinancialDocs.aspx?iid=4063363
>4. Why Deceit? TVA is NUCLEAR POWER'S last bastion of support, where future projects may be built. Only a federal agency which is not supported by stock holders may get away with the blatant deceit and irresponsibility demonstrated as a result of nuclear power investments and the massive waste perpetuated by banks, multi-national corporations, bureaucrats and politicians supportive of nuclear power and the multinational nuclear defense industry.
(a) Building of electric power generation should not result in the building of deceit, ignorance, sickness and death. The replacement of coal fired generation with nuclear power is not acceptable and in no way or form is it clean, cheap or reliable. Only in the TVA area may government and corporations act in unison to literally sicken and kill people without the people revolting against disgusting practices and policies of corporate fascism and its deceitful practices.
(b) Health -The cancer incidence and death rates are staggering, the nuclear death industry contributes to the declining health of the area (past and present). Regulatory actions do not consider public health, nor the fact that the nuclear industry has and is killing and sickening folks in the TVA region, particularly in East Tennessee. The nuclear industry has dumped hundreds of thousands of pounds of deadly radioactive materials in the past and continues to do so in the present. Public reports on the dumping of highly radioactive nuclear materials are readily available and accessible on the web.
A large portion of East Tennessee is Red and Orange, indicating increased cancer incidence rates over the rest of the nation. Source National Cancer Institute, current statistics reported. http://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/map/map.withimage.php?47&001&001&00&0&01&0&1&4&0#results
>5. Very Short Conclusion - With all of that said, the EPI report makes good points about many positive aspects of TVA's current management and its initial mission to the good people of the Tennessee River Valley. However, the report does not accurately describe or disclose the full picture for decision makers and rate payers.
TVA Board meetings reports, it is important to note, in no case are full financial disclosures given in regards to long term debt interest or a full disclosure of all financial obligations, including pension plan shortfalls and facilities decommissioning costs at TVA Board Meetings. Such is the case within the EPI Report. http://arklite.blogspot.com/search/label/TVA%20Board%20Meeting
TVA's current financial update: June 2015 Investor Update
TVA's full update and presentation lists
Fair Use for non-profit news reporting “By jove, I think I see Airstrip One, jolly good. The sun over Oceania is rising.”
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