TVA, Power Distributors Provide Relief to Flood, Storm Victims

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Jun 08, 2010, 04:02 ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Tennessee Valley Authority is teaming with regional power distributors in an initiative announced Tuesday to help homeowners and businesses recover from recent floods and other natural disasters across parts of the TVA service area.

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"TVA's Energy Efficiency Disaster Assistance Initiative will give residents and businesses in federal disaster areas easier access to energy efficiency incentives through two TVA programs as they rebuild," Ken Breeden, TVA executive vice president of Customer Relations, said. "We know that homeowners and businesses in our service area need assistance now more than ever, and TVA and local power distributors want to do our part to help them."

Through the initiative, TVA will waive an initial onsite evaluation requirement for its In-Home Energy Evaluation Program, giving residents with FEMA documentation up to $500 in cash rebates for eligible weatherization and heating and cooling improvements. Homeowners also may receive up to $20,000 in low-interest financing through participating power distributors. These loans can be conveniently repaid through monthly power bills over a period of up to 10 years.

Businesses with a FEMA registration number can qualify for rebates on high-efficiency lighting and heating and cooling equipment through new provisions in TVA's Commercial Efficiency Advice and Incentives program.

The initiative was announced in Nashville at a ceremony attended by officials from the state of Tennessee, TVA, the city of Nashville and Nashville Electric Service.

"Heating and cooling replacement costs are among the largest upfront expense for consumers," Breeden said. "Combined with other state and federal tax incentives for energy efficiency, this initiative will hasten repairs, improve the value of rebuilt properties, and help customers save energy and money on future power bills."

The initiative specifically targets victims of recent floods, tornadoes, severe storms and mudslides in 73 counties declared federal disaster areas in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Kentucky. TVA is partnering with more than 50 power distributors in those counties to provide either residential or non-residential disaster relief.

For more information or assistance on the TVA Energy Efficiency Disaster Assistance Initiative, please call toll-free 877-634-9442 or visit http://www.tva.com/relief.

The Tennessee Valley Authority, a corporation owned by the U.S. government, provides electricity for utility and business customers in most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia – an area of 80,000 square miles with a population of 9 million. TVA operates 29 hydroelectric dams, 11 coal-fired power plants, three nuclear plants and 11 natural gas-fired power facilities and supplies up to 36,000 megawatts of electricity, delivered over 16,000 miles of high-voltage power lines. TVA also provides flood control, navigation, land management and recreation for the Tennessee River system and works with local utilities and state and local governments to promote economic development across the region. TVA, which makes no profits and receives no taxpayer money, is funded by sales of electricity to its customers. Electricity prices in TVA's service territory are below the national average.

SOURCE Tennessee Valley Authority