TVA to keep two coal-fired power plants operating indefinitely

(The Center Square) – Two coal-fired power plants in Tennessee that had been scheduled for closure in 2026 and 2028 will be kept open for the “foreseeable future” after a unanimous vote by the board of the Tennessee Valley Authority on Wednesday in Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

The TVA, the nation’s largest public utility with about 10 million customers, will continue operating coal-burning units at the Kingston Fossil Plant and the Cumberland Fossil Plant, which currently provide a combined 3.8 gigawatts of power, enough to serve 2.7 million homes on an average day.

The vote comes after four new board members appointed by President Donald Trump were sworn in on Jan. 12, restoring a voting quorum to the nine-member panel for the first time in nearly a year.

Trump dismissed three board members during the first half of 2025, and the Senate voted to confirm three replacements along with a nominee for a vacant seat just before the end of the year.

The board also voted to sc...