Image Credit: Scott Dexter / CC
Submitted by Danielle Goodrich –
With the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) saying blackouts are possible during this looming storm, the issue of energy independence is a relevant one.
For nearly a century, Tennessee’s energy system has been dominated by a federally owned monopoly: the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Created in 1933 as a temporary New Deal experiment, TVA has evolved into one of the largest government-run power providers in the nation — and one of the least accountable.
What began as a flood-control and navigation project now functions as a sprawling federal utility that controls generation, transmission, wholesale pricing, and energy policy across most of Tennessee. Local power companies do not compete. Consumers do not choose. The state does not regulate.
This is not a free market. It is federal economic control.
The Conservative Case Against TVA
Conservatives rightly oppose monopolies — especially government monopolies insulated from competition, accountability, and constitutional limits. TVA enjoys privileges no private company could ever obtain:
- Exclusive service territories
- Immunity from state public utility regulation
- No meaningful market competition
- Federal backing that distorts prices and investment
There is no enumerated power in the U.S. Constitution authorizing the federal government to operate a permanent retail electricity monopoly inside sovereign states. TVA persists not because it is constitutional, but because it is entrenched.
And the consequences are real:
- Higher long-term costs hidden behind “stable pricing”
- Slower innovation
- Forced energy policy decisions made in Washington, not Nashville
- Citizens barred from freely generating and selling their own power
Sovereignty Does Not Mean Chaos
Critics claim that challenging TVA would “destabilize the grid” or “endanger reliability.” That argument assumes only federal control can provide stability — a claim disproven every day by competitive energy markets across the country.
Energy sovereignty does not mean abolishing TVA overnight. It means restoring choice, competition, and constitutional balance.
The goal is not replacing one monopoly with another. It is dismantling monopoly power altogether.
The Free-Market Solution
Tennessee has lawful, conservative options to reclaim control over its energy future:
1. Protect the right to self-generation
Tennesseans should have an unquestioned right to generate electricity on their own property — whether through solar, biomass, micro-nuclear, hydro, or other lawful means — without punitive fees or utility retaliation.
2. End forced exclusivity contracts
TVA’s control depends on long-term, exclusive contracts with local power companies. Tennessee can prohibit new perpetual exclusivity agreements and require legislative oversight for renewals.
3. Legalize microgrids and energy co-ops
Neighborhoods, farms, churches, and industrial parks should be allowed to form independent microgrids and sell power locally — restoring energy production to the community level.
4. Allow competition at the wholesale level
Large industrial and commercial customers should be allowed to purchase power from competing generators instead of being locked into a single federal supplier.
5. Build the constitutional record
By asserting its authority over energy policy, Tennessee lays the groundwork for a serious constitutional challenge to TVA’s unchecked expansion beyond its original mandate.
Why This Matters Now
Energy policy is no longer just about electricity. It is about:
- Economic growth
- National security
- Federal overreach
- Individual liberty
A state that cannot control its energy policy is not fully sovereign.
Tennessee does not need permission from Washington to believe in free markets. It only needs the courage to act like it.
Energy independence begins where monopolies end.
One Response
AMEN!!