[Senate Hearing 119-357]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 119-357

                 HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF MITCH 
                GRAVES, JEFF HAGOOD, RANDALL JONES, AND 
                  ARTHUR GRAHAM TO BE A MEMBER OF 
                  THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TEN-
                  NESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
                      ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                            OCTOBER 22, 2025

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Environment and Public Works
  
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]  


        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
        
                               __________
                               
                  U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
63-400                   WASHINGTON : 2026
=======================================================================
        
        
               COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS

                    ONE HUNDRED NINETEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

             SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia, Chairman
            SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island, Ranking Member

KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota           BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
CYNTHIA M. LUMMIS, Wyoming           JEFF MERKLEY, Oregon
JOHN R. CURTIS, Utah                 EDWARD J. MARKEY, Massachusetts
LINDSEY O. GRAHAM, South Carolina    MARK KELLY, Arizona
DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska                 ALEX PADILLA, California
PETE RICKETTS, Nebraska              ADAM B. SCHIFF, California
ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi         LISA BLUNT ROCHESTER, Delaware
JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas               ANGELA D. ALSOBROOKS, Maryland
JON HUSTED, Ohio

               Adam Tomlinson, Republican Staff Director
                  Dan Dudis, Democratic Staff Director
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

                            OCTOBER 22, 2025
                           OPENING STATEMENTS

Capito, Hon. Shelley Moore, U.S. Senator from the State of West 
  Virginia.......................................................     1
Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode 
  Island.........................................................     2

                               WITNESSES

Blackburn, Hon. Marsha, U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee.     5
Hagerty, Hon. Bill, U.S. Senator from the State of Tennessee.....     6
Tuberville, Hon. Tommy, U.S. Senator from the State of Alabama...     7
Graves, Mitch of Tennessee, to be a member of the Board of 
  Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority....................     8
    Prepared statement...........................................    10
    Responses to additional questions from:
        Senator Husted...........................................    12
        Senator Whitehouse.......................................    12
        Senator Sanders..........................................    14
        Senator Markey...........................................    17
        Senator Kelly............................................    21
Hagood, Jeff of Tennessee, to be a member of the Board of 
  Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority....................    22
    Prepared statement...........................................    24
    Responses to additional questions from:
        Senator Husted...........................................    26
        Senator Whitehouse.......................................    26
        Senator Sanders..........................................    28
        Senator Markey...........................................    31
        Senator Kelly............................................    34
Jones, Randall, of Alabama, to be a member of the Board of 
  Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority....................    35
    Prepared statement...........................................    37
    Responses to additional questions from:
        Senator Husted...........................................    40
        Senator Whitehouse.......................................    40
        Senator Sanders..........................................    42
        Senator Markey...........................................    45
        Senator Kelly............................................    48
Graham, Arthur, of Florida, to be a member of the Board of 
  Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority....................    49
    Prepared statement...........................................    51
    Responses to additional questions from:
        Senator Husted...........................................    53
        Senator Whitehouse.......................................    53
        Senator Sanders..........................................    56
        Senator Markey...........................................    58
        Senator Kelly............................................    61

                          ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

Letter to Senator Capito, Senator Whitehouse, Senator Lummis and 
  Senator Kelly from Tennessee Valley Public Power Association...    76
Letters to Senator Capito from:
    Tower Ventures in support of John Mitchell Graves............    78
    Parkridge Health System in support of John Mitchell Graves...    80
    Charles A. Wagner III in support of L. Jeffrey Hagood........    81
Letters to Senator Capito and Senator Whitehouse from:
    Boys and Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley in support of 
      Jeffrey Hagood.............................................    82
    Hagood Moody Hodge PLC in support of Jeffrey Hagood..........    84
    State of Alabama, Wills Ainsworth, Lt. Governor, in support 
      of Randall Earlie Jones....................................    88
    City of Germantown, Tennessee in support of Mitch Graves.....    90
    Memphis Light, Gas and Water, Rodney Cleek in support of 
      Mitch Graves...............................................    92
    Memphis Light, Gas and Water, Doug McGowen in support of 
      Mitch Graves...............................................    93
    Huntsville, Alabama in support of Randall Earlie Jones.......    94
    Beasley Allen Law Firm in support of Randall Earlie Jones....    96
    Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives in support 
      of Randall Earlie Jones....................................    98
    State of Alabama, Kay Ivey, Governor in support of Randall 
      Earlie Jones...............................................   101
    Jax State, Office of the President in support of Randall 
      Earlie Jones...............................................   102
    Auto Zone in support of Mitch Graves.........................   104
    Manufacture Alabama in support of Randall Earlie Jones.......   106
    Congress of the United States, House of Representatives, Hon. 
      David Kustoff in support of Mitch Graves...................   107
    Electric Cities of Alabama in support of Randall Earlie Jones   108
    Business Council of Alabama in support of Randall Earlie 
      Jones......................................................   110
    State of Tennessee, Bill Lee, Governor in support of Mitch 
      Graves.....................................................   111
    Jefferson County Commission in support of Randall Earlie 
      Jones......................................................   112
    State of Alabama, Chris Beeker, Commissioner in support of 
      Randall Earlie Jones.......................................   114
    Phillip Fulmer in support of Jeff Hagood.....................   116
    State of Alabama, Nathaniel Ledbetter, Speaker of the House 
      in support of Randall Earlie Jones.........................   118
    U.S. House of Representatives:
        Hon. Robert B. Aderholt in support of Randall Earlie 
          Jones..................................................   119
        Hon. Dale W. Strong in support of Randall Earlie Jones...   121
    U.S. Senate, Hon. Rick Scott in support of Arthur Graham.....   122
    Memphis Light, Gas and Water, Mike Pohlman in support of 
      Mitch Graves...............................................   124
Letter to President Trump and distinguished members of the U.S. 
  Senate from Chuck Fleischman...................................   125

 
HEARING ON THE NOMINATIONS OF MITCH GRAVES, JEFF HAGOOD, RANDALL JONES, 
   AND ARTHUR GRAHAM TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE 
                       TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

                              ----------                              


                      WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2025

                                       U.S. Senate,
                 Committee on Environment and Public Works,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in room 
562, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Shelley Moore Capito 
(chairman of the committee) presiding.
    Present: Senators Capito, Whitehouse, Wicker, Markey, 
Kelly, Schiff, Alsobrooks.
    Also present: Senators Blackburn, Hagerty, Tuberville.

        OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, 
          U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA

    Senator Capito. The committee will come to order, and good 
morning to all of you. We will begin with our opening 
statements and our introductions. I want to thank everybody for 
being here.
    As Senator Britt said, we will try to keep it under 
control. I said, oh, you Southerners, we just love to have a 
good time. Thank you all for being here.
    Today we are going to hear from four nominees, Mitch 
Graves, Jeff Hagood, Randy Jones, and Art Graham, to serve as 
members of the TVA's, Authority's, Board of Directors, and it 
is well past time that we have had this hearing and started to 
fill up the Board of Directors with great talent. I look 
forward to learning more about each one of your goals and 
priorities today.
    In 1933, Congress passed the Tennessee Valley Authority 
Act, which establishes the TVA as a federally owned public 
utility to serve the people of the Tennessee Valley across 
seven southeastern States. The law charges TVA with three 
primary roles: providing electricity, managing the Tennessee 
River system, and assisting with economic development efforts.
    If confirmed, the nominees before us will be required to 
support and uphold each of these fundamental responsibilities 
of TVA, which have served the people of the Tennessee Valley 
very well for decades. In particular, I have seen the positive 
impacts of TVA's economic development efforts in the 
Appalachian region and hope the nominees will continue to 
prioritize those activities.
    TVA's mission to provide affordable and reliable 
electricity is no small challenge and vital to the well-being 
of its customers. Today, TVA is the third largest electricity 
generator in the United States, providing energy to more than 
10 million people and 800,000 businesses across the Tennessee 
Valley, in partnership with 153 local power companies.
    The families and businesses that call the Tennessee Valley 
home fund TVA's operations through their energy bills, and in 
return, these customers expect affordable and reliable energy.
    The Tennessee Valley is forecasted to, over the next 
decade, need a dramatic increase of between 30 and 80 percent 
of its current power generation capacity to meet rising demand. 
To meet this growing demand, the Board will have to make 
strategic long term investment decisions to ensure adequate 
future capacity while maintaining reasonable and affordable 
electricity bills for its customers. No small task.
    However, to move forward with these vital planning and 
investment decisions, the TVA Board of Directors needs a 
quorum. Without a quorum, TVA is currently unable to conduct 
the full range of business necessary to support the people of 
the Tennessee Valley. Confirming these nominees to the Board 
will enable TVA to move forward with planning new power 
generation capacity, approving large power load applications to 
support economic development, and other important actions like 
approving the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan.
    Now, turning to our witnesses today. First, we will hear 
from two nominees that call Tennessee home, Mr. Graves and Mr. 
Hagood. Mr. Graves is currently the CEO of West Cancer Center 
and has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare 
leadership positions. Mr. Graves also serves on the board of 
Memphis Light, Gas, and Water, of which he is a past chair.
    Mr. Hagood is an attorney with a wide range of experiences 
in business across the legal, athletics, real estate, and 
agriculture industries.
    Next, Mr. Jones of Alabama will deliver his testimony. Mr. 
Jones is the long-time owner of a highly successful insurance 
agency, and currently serves on the city of Guntersville's 
Electric Board.
    Finally, we will hear from Mr. Graham from Florida, a 
chemical engineer by training. He brings 15 years of experience 
as a member, and three-time chair of the Florida Public Service 
Commission, and he is a former member of the Board of Directors 
of the National Association of Regulatory Utility 
Commissioners.
    The diverse backgrounds and experiences these nominees 
would bring to the Board will position TVA to make effective 
long-term decisions. I look forward to hearing more about each 
nominee's priorities for the Board and how they would work to 
have a positive impact for the people of the Tennessee Valley.
    With that, I will recognize my Ranking Member, our Ranking 
Member, Senator Whitehouse, for his opening statement and then 
we will go to introductions.

         OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, 
          U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

    Senator Whitehouse. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Before I get to TVA, I want to discuss permitting reform 
for a minute. You and I both want permitting reform, as do 
colleagues on the Democratic and Republican sides. All sorts of 
interest groups are pitching me on permitting reform. There is 
a lot to fix, and I am happy to and will continue to engage in 
these conversations, not just with you but also with our 
colleagues on the Energy Committee.
    Remember what I warn constantly about: trust. Why would we 
want to do bipartisan permitting reform during an 
administration that will not faithfully execute that law, that 
cannot be trusted? Trust matters. The Trump administration is 
busily destroying any hope of that trust with unrelenting and 
often illegal assaults on clean energy.
    Off my State, they dropped an illegal stop work order on a 
project nearing completion, with $4 billion invested and every 
permit in place. Listen to this: when whoever it was at Moscow 
Central demanded the illegal stop work order, government 
lawyers had to go into court and reverse arguments they had 
been making in that same courthouse about that same project, 
just weeks earlier. The exact opposite arguments.
    Of course, they got crushed. From a trust perspective, 
where is the good faith there? It is gangster-gang show quality 
stuff.
    Two weeks ago, Interior canceled environmental review on 
America's largest solar energy project. The Energy Executive 
Order contends that solar and wind energy are not even energy. 
Even the dictionary is violated.
    This is kind of bureaucratic Al Capone quality stuff. It is 
very hard to find a glimmer of good faith.
    The administration's kill list of clean energy projects 
starts with projects in Blue States, but just wait, the full 
list targets Red States as well. They have already pulled the 
permits in Red States like Lava Ridge Wind in Idaho.
    On Monday, Secretary Burgum declared that he had no 
interest in including offshore wind in a permitting reform 
proposal. Well, guess what? Unless the illegal acts stop, and 
unless offshore wind is included, good luck with the trust 
required for a permitting deal.
    Where are my Senate Republican colleagues? It used to be 
your stated principle that government should not be weaponized, 
that government should not pick winners and losers, that 
regulators should be honest and not take private property, and 
that lawful permits should be honored.
    Now, everyone is mute while government is weaponized, picks 
winners and losers, illegally damages private interests who 
have lawful permits, all because what? The picked winner is the 
fossil fuel industry? Just think about that a moment, when the 
winds change and your favorite industry is not the picked 
winner anymore, do you really want the lawless America, the 
pay-to-play America of this administration?
    The Republican Party has long claimed to be the party of 
free market capitalism, yet you seem fine with this level of 
government interference in free enterprise. Stop Work Trump's 
interference in all these projects is not just putting 
thousands of hard-working Americans out of a job, it is raising 
the cost of capital for all projects, even fossil fuel 
projects.
    Folks, this is what the founding fathers meant when they 
talked about corruption. When the government comes in and shuts 
down a lawful project to please its political donors, we are no 
longer in the United States of America, we are in Venezuela. 
Colleagues, I will keep working in good faith on the substance 
of permitting reform. I promise you that.
    That gate I have said we will need to get through, that 
trust check, is looking increasingly implausible. Without a 
drastic change in behavior I am not seeing a pathway to that 
trust. Without perhaps even some change in personnel, I am not 
seeing a pathway to that trust.
    If that is fine with all of you, well, keep it up. Do not 
blame me when permitting reform crashes and burns because all 
trust, all rule of law, has crashed and burned.
    By the way, if that is lost, that is going to affect 
highway bills, Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) bills, all 
sorts of other legislation that requires trust in the faithful 
execution of the laws.
    On the nominees to govern the TVA, which by statute must 
maintain national leadership and technological innovation in 
low-cost power and environmental stewardship, the Trump 
administration is on course to technological devolution, 
higher-cost power and environmental destruction with fewer jobs 
and less accountability but more reward for fossil fuel mega-
donors.
    If you know how grids work, it is easy to see how reducing 
clean power requires more expensive polluting units to be 
dialed up to meet projected demand, especially as demand surges 
from data centers. That cost increase comes from ratepayer 
pockets, hammering people's electric bills.
    There have been bright spots. In 2024, more than half of 
TVA's electricity came from zero-carbon sources like nuclear, 
hydroelectric and renewables. TVA has led the charge on 
deploying advanced reactors and plans deployment of 10 
gigawatts of solar by 2035. It has retired or announced 
retirement of 86 percent of its polluting, expensive coal 
fleet. It has approved nearly 5 gigawatts of new natural gas 
generation since 2019, without carbon offset or removal.
    My question is, will the nominees before us advocate for 
TVA's customers or will they roll over for Trump administration 
schemes to build or extend expensive, polluting fossil plants 
to help out the big Trump donors at ratepayer expense?
    Will Tennessee Valley ratepayers pay the price for that 
with higher utility bills, medical expenses, and housing and 
insurance costs as climate change fuels more and more costly 
disasters?
    The nominees appear here under a cloud that is not their 
own fault. Trump fired three Democratic board members, upending 
the convention of a bipartisan TVA board, and depriving the 
board of its quorum. Are Republicans Okay with that? How about 
when the winds change? Political interference to enrich 
political megadonors is the exact opposite of what is needed to 
run a proper utility.
    A public board, like the TVA board, needs competent 
visionaries. I will just say that the classic pay-to-play 
political spoils system has never worked for the public. 
History shows that. It could well wreak its havoc on TVA and 
its 10 million customers.
    I look forward to hearing from the nominees whose interests 
they will put first. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Capito. Thank you, Senator Whitehouse.
    Before I turn to Senator Blackburn, I am going to respond 
just for 1 minute on the permitting. In the same symposium on 
Monday evening where I and Congressman Westerman, from the 
House side, both reiterated several times that permitting 
reform has to be agonistic as to what project it is, it does 
not matter if it is a natural gas, coal, wind, solar, to me. If 
you get the permits and you do the things that you need to do 
to be permitted, you should move forward no matter what.
    You were reminded, if I can say, I think it was Senator 
Lummis, reminded you yesterday that we feel your pain. The XL 
Pipeline that was canceled the first day of the Biden 
administration is a good example of that. We have mutual pain 
here. This is why I think we can get permitting reform. I 
understand, and I get your message. Thank you.
    This morning we are joined by Senators Blackburn, maybe 
Hagerty, and Tuberville, to provide remarks before the 
committee. We will begin with Senator Blackburn to introduce 
Mr. Graves and Mr. Hagood, both from Tennessee, nominated to be 
members of the board of directors of TVA.

              STATEMENT OF HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN, 
            U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE

    Senator Blackburn. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I am 
delighted to join you this morning and introduce these two fine 
Tennesseans.
    As you said, Mr. Mitch Graves has served on the board of 
commissioners of Memphis Light, Gas and Water, we call it MLGW, 
since 2016. MLGW is the largest 3-service utility in the 
Country, and the Tennessee Valley Authority's largest customer.
    During his tenure, he has chaired the pension and Other 
Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) funds as well as the hedge, 
audit and human resource committees, and briefly served as CEO, 
providing steady leadership in one of Memphis' most critical 
public institutions. He has over 37 years of executive 
leadership experience in complex regulated industries.
    He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of the West 
Cancer and Research Institute, leading a multi-State health 
care organization with more than 100 providers and 750 
employees. Prior to this role, he served as president and CEO 
of HealthChoice, LLC and held key executive positions at 
Methodist Le Bonheur Health Care.
    His expertise has been recognized nationally through his 
service on the United Health Care's Executive Advisory Council 
and Cigna's National Health Care Advisory Council, where he has 
provided valuable insight on health care strategy and 
innovation.
    With his deep roots in the Memphis community, decades of 
executive leadership and steadfast commitment to public 
service, he represents the best of Tennessee's business and 
civic leadership. I am confident that his experience and 
dedication will continue to serve our State and Nation well.
    At this time, I would like to introduce Mr. Jeff Hagood, 
from the small community of Persia, to serve on the TVA board 
of directors. In addition to his 35-year legal career, Mr. 
Hagood has built and managed a diverse portfolio of successful 
businesses across our State.
    His business ventures have included many storage 
facilities, warehouses, urgent care medical clinics, a large 
trucking operation, residential subdivisions, restaurants, 
apartments, commercial properties, farm land, and a sports 
agency. His extensive experience in business and management 
brings a vital private sector perspective to TVA's leadership.
    Beyond his professional accomplishments, he has dedicated 
much of his life to serving his community. He has served on 
numerous non-profit boards, mentored children through Big 
Brothers and Big Sisters for nearly a decade, and for almost 20 
years has led his church's shut-in ministry, personally 
preparing and delivering meals to those unable to leave their 
homes. His commitment to service reflects the very values TVA 
was founded upon.
    With his legal expertise, entrepreneurial success, and 
unwavering commitment to service, Mr. Hagood embodies the 
values that have long defined the people of the Tennessee 
Valley. I am confident that his leadership will bring strength, 
accountability and common sense stewardship to the TVA Board of 
Directors.
    Thank you, Madam Chairman.
    Senator Capito. Thank you, Senator Blackburn.
    Now I will turn to Senator Hagerty.

                STATEMENT OF HON. BILL HAGERTY, 
            U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE

    Senator Hagerty. Thank you, Chairman Capito and Ranking 
Member Whitehouse. I appreciate your holding this important 
nomination hearing today.
    My home State of Tennessee is dependent on the Tennessee 
Valley Authority for the entirety of our energy supply. While 
TVA touches a number of other States in the valley, Tennessee 
has only one option for our vital energy needs, and that is the 
TVA.
    It is my honor to introduce two outstanding Tennesseans, 
Mitch Graves and Jeff Hagood, who have been nominated by 
President Trump to serve on the Board of Directors of the 
Tennessee Valley Authority. Both men bring decades of 
leadership experience in business, management and community 
service. You have heard from Senator Blackburn the extent of 
their experience.
    Their proven record of results makes them exceptionally 
well qualified to help guide TVA at this critical moment in our 
Nation's energy future.
    I would also like to recognize Randy Jones and Art Graham, 
who, while not from my home State, bring valuable experience, 
valuable expertise, and valuable perspective that if confirmed, 
will help advance the Valley's vision for affordable, reliable 
energy, regional growth and technical innovation in the years 
ahead.
    This hearing is about more than the four nominees sitting 
in front of you. It is about the future of American energy 
dominance and the transformative role that TVA can play in 
securing that dominance. The Tennessee Valley Authority is 
uniquely positioned to lead America's nuclear energy revival 
and shape the direction of our Country's power generation for 
the next century. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to 
ensure American energy independence and technical dominance.
    The 21st century economy will be powered by artificial 
intelligence, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing, all 
of which demand vast amounts of reliable baseload power. The 
ability to generate that power is critical to ensuring that the 
United States continues to be the global leader.
    Let me be clear: failure in this endeavor is not an option. 
Nuclear energy is in Tennessee's DNA, and nuclear energy is the 
solution that can meet our future needs at scale.
    TVA is already leading the way. It holds the Nation's only 
early site permit for a small modular reactor, making it the 
clear front-runner in America's nuclear resurgence. SMRs are 
safer, more efficient and more replicable than traditional 
reactors. Now is the time to deliver.
    Unfortunately, TVA's potential has too often been 
constrained by bureaucracy and a lack of vision. For too long, 
the board prioritized process over progress and metrics over 
mission. Today, we have an opportunity to change that, to 
empower new leadership that will cut through the red tape and 
move TVA forward with renewed purpose.
    The Trump administration's decisive action to bring fresh 
leadership to TVA ensures that we can confirm board members who 
understand the urgency of this moment, leaders who will 
champion innovation, job creation and energy independence.
    Mitch Graves and Jeff Hagood understand the responsibility 
before them. They recognize that TVA's role in deploying 
advanced nuclear technologies is central not just to 
Tennessee's prosperity, but to America's national security and 
our global competitiveness.
    I am confident that under their leadership TVA will act 
boldly, deliver a clear plan to make TVA the driving force in 
America's energy and technology future. If TVA succeeds, the 
United States will lead the world in reliable and scalable 
energy production. If it fails, we risk ceding that ground to 
adversaries like China. The stakes could not be higher.
    This is America's moment to lead, to enter a new era of 
innovation that powers our economy, that strengthens our 
security, and secures a new American golden age. I am proud to 
support these four qualified nominees to serve on the TVA board 
of directors, and I look forward to their swift confirmation.
    Senator Capito. Thank you very much. Thank you.
    Now we have Senator Tuberville to introduce Mr. Jones of 
Alabama, who has obviously been nominated to a member of the 
board of directors of the TVA. Senator Tuberville, thank you 
for coming. Please proceed.

              STATEMENT OF HON. TOMMY TUBERVILLE, 
             U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ALABAMA

    Senator Tuberville. Thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking 
Member. It is my honor to introduce my good friend and fellow 
Alabamian, Mr. Randy Jones of Guntersville, Alabama, to 
represent the State of Alabama on the one seat that we have on 
the TVA board.
    Randy is a proud business owner and a civic servant of 
North Alabama. Over 45 years, he has started his own insurance 
agency and has grown it substantially over the years, making 
him a big player in the State of Alabama. For 17 years, Randy 
has served on the Guntersville Electric Board, where he oversaw 
a $12.8 million expansion of the system while keeping their 
debt low, which is very important.
    He has also served on the Business Council and Renewal 
Commission of Alabama and Jacksonville State University's Board 
of Directors, where he oversaw significant infrastructure and 
economic development efforts across our State.
    Mr. Jones' strong background in business and civil service 
sets him up to be a valuable board member of the TVA. I am 
grateful for the hard work he has done so far in Alabama and 
look forward to working with him on the TVA board.
    Thank you for being here today, Randy Jones. Thank you.
    Senator Capito. Thank you. Thank you all very much.
    I would ask the witnesses if they would move to the witness 
table, nominees, and I will swear you in.
    I am going to ask you to stand, to save you the up and 
down. Raise your right hand, please, and answer the following 
questions. I will start with Mr. Graves.
    Do you swear the testimony you are about to give to this 
committee is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the 
truth, so help you God?
    Mr. Graves. Yes, Chairman.
    Mr. Hagood. Yes, Chairman.
    Mr. Jones. Yes, Chairman.
    Mr. Graham. Yes, Chairman.
    Senator Capito. Thank you. Let the record show that the 
witnesses have answered in the affirmative, and so we will now 
hear from our witnesses. Thank you.
    Mr. Graves, when you are ready, everybody is seated, you 
can proceed with your opening statement. Thank you for being 
here.

  STATEMENT OF JOHN MITCHELL GRAVES, NOMINEE TO THE TENNESSEE 
                   VALLEY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

    Mr. Graves. Chairman Capito, Ranking Member Whitehouse, and 
members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to 
appear before you today and for considering my nomination to 
the Tennessee Valley Authority's Board of Directors.
    For the record, my name is Mitch Graves, and I am a fourth 
generation Memphian. It is an honor to have been nominated by 
President Trump to serve an institution that has played such a 
vital role in the Tennessee Valley for more than 90 years, 
providing affordable, reliable electricity, fostering economic 
growth, and protecting the region's natural resources.
    I have had personal experience with every aspect of TVA's 
mission. As a life-long Memphian, I experienced TVA's dam, 
Pickwick Lake formed from that, and from childhood, fishing 
with my grandfather to water skiing as a young adult. I have 
seen first-hand how TVA has played a critical role in my 
hometown's economic development over the years, bringing jobs 
and opportunity.
    Of course, TVA has provided our citizens with low-cost 
electricity through our local power company, Memphis Light Gas 
and Water, better known as MLG&W. Since 2016, I have served on 
the Board of Commissioners of MLG&W. As the Senator said 
earlier, MLG&W is the largest 3-service utility in the Country 
and TVA's largest customer, accounting for about 10 percent of 
its revenue.
    I have served as chairman of MLG&W and for a brief time 
period, interim CEO. During my term as chairman, MLG&W explored 
alternative suppliers of energy. We developed an Integrated 
Resource Plan from which then we developed a Request for 
Proposal. After reviewing numerous options, MLG&W decided 
against selecting any bids and recommended staying with TVA, a 
decision that underscores both TVA's value and its importance 
to Memphis. Throughout that process, TVA stood out thanks to 
its reliability and low rates.
    I also gained a better appreciation of TVA's balanced 
generation portfolio and how critical that is in keeping the 
lights on and power bills low. Memphis and the Valley are well 
served by TVA.
    In addition to serving as chairman, I have served as 
chairman of the MLG&W Pension and OPEB Funds and the chairman 
of Hedge, Audit, and Human Resource committees. If confirmed, I 
am pleased to bring my direct governance experience in the 
public utility sector to the TVA board.
    As outlined in the materials I have submitted to the 
Committee, I have over 37 years of executive leadership 
experience in complex, regulated environments. In my current 
role as chief executive officer of West Cancer Center and 
Research Institute, I lead a multi-State healthcare 
organization with 100 providers and 750 employees.
    Prior to that, I served as president and CEO of 
HealthChoice, LLC, and held executive leadership roles at 
Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare.
    I have had the privilege of serving on many corporate, non-
profit, healthcare, and governmental boards, most often in 
leadership roles. My background in executive management, 
combined with utility governance and community service, will 
enable me to provide balanced oversight while helping advance 
TVA's mission of energy delivery, environmental stewardship, 
and economic development.
    If confirmed, I will uphold the TVA Act and work to ensure 
that TVA stays true to its mission and continues to meet the 
needs of families, businesses, and communities across the 
Valley, not just for today but for generations to come.
    I would like to thank Senator Blackburn and Senator Hagerty 
for being here today and their kind words. I would also like to 
thank Representative Kustoff, who is in the audience, and 
Governor Bill Lee, for their support.
    There are a few people in the audience I would like to also 
thank for their support: my wife, Kelly Joan, daughter 
Caroline, her new husband, Kavon, good friends Mike Keeney, 
Bill and Robin Orville, and Courtney Smith.
    I certainly appreciate all TVA has done for my community 
and I look forward to giving back, and I look forward to 
collaborating with you all and answering your questions today.
    Thank you very much.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Graves follows:]

    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
    
    Senator Capito. Thank you very much.
    Next we will go to Mr. Hagood.

STATEMENT OF LARRY JEFFREY HAGOOD, OF TENNESSEE, TO BE A MEMBER 
  OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

    Mr. Hagood. Chairman Capito, Ranking Member Whitehouse, and 
members of this committee, my name is Jeff Hagood, and I 
sincerely thank you for the opportunity to appear before you.
    I was indeed humbled that President Trump nominated me to 
be on the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors, and I 
am very grateful to my two Senators, Marsha Blackburn and Bill 
Hagerty, for their kind words and support.
    I was born and raised in Persia, Tennessee, a little hamlet 
about 65 miles from Knoxville. I was fortunate to be raised in 
a wonderful home and in a wonderful community. My father, Larry 
Hagood, was the best man I have ever known. My mother, Doris 
Hagood, was the best mother anybody could ever have.
    My daddy was a rural mail carrier, and he grew tobacco on 
our little farm to supplement our income. He also founded the 
Persia Utility District. I saw first-hand what a difference 
that made in my little community.
    My mother worked for TVA as a secretary. I so remember my 
mother talking about how proud she was to work for TVA and how 
much she loved her work. My mother's only sister, Virginia, and 
my mother's little brother, Joe Don, had careers at TVA as 
well.
    Just as TVA was important to my family, it was also 
important to my community. As a child, I would often peddle my 
bicycle down our little rural road, Chalk Level Road, to gaze 
at those towering smokestacks of the John Sevier Fossil Plant. 
TVA was more than an employer, it was the economic heartbeat of 
my little community, offering the best-paying jobs and fueling 
growth and opportunity.
    Today, TVA continues to drive energy production, economic 
development, and access to natural resources across our region, 
benefits that remain vital to the communities where I grew up 
and where I now live. Preserving and enhancing these 
opportunities should be a priority for all of us who want to 
serve this region.
    Now, my parents had little formal education, but they both 
understood the value of education and had the expectation that 
I would be the first in my family to go to college. With their 
sacrifices, I was. I attended the University of Tennessee and 
got a degree in an Honors Program, and got my law degree.
    Upon graduation, I took an unconventional path for a new 
lawyer at that time: I opened my own little practice. I made 
$5,218.00 my first year, and I am happy and thankful to say 
that both my little firm and I have grown significantly over 
the past 35 years.
    My practice has always focused on litigation, and I have 
represented people from all walks of life with all kinds of 
cases. I have represented everyone from top business executives 
and athletes to hardworking folks who kept our offices clean 
and those who provided security for our offices. I think I have 
treated them all, and I sure hope I did, and their cases, with 
the same care and with the same zeal.
    While I have practiced law full-time for the last 35 years, 
I have always had a particular interest in business. Since 
1990, with the help of partners, I have built and developed 
mini-storage facilities and storage warehouses, urgent care 
medical clinics, a large trucking operation, subdivisions, 
restaurants, apartments, and commercial buildings.
    I have purchased and developed farmland, and I co-founded a 
sports agency that represents many NFL players. I believe my 
background in business enables me to offer TVA the perspective 
of not only a businessman, but someone outside of the public 
utility sector.
    I have had to learn personnel management, evaluate 
personnel, know when and how to raise capital, and when and how 
to deploy, hire the right people and get the right technology.
    TVA has a mission of service, and I align myself with that 
mission. Throughout my life, I have strived to give back more 
to my community than I have taken. I have served on the boards 
of many, many non-profits. I have contributed time, not just 
money.
    For nearly a decade, I went into the worst project in 
Knoxville every Monday night and mentored two twins. For 20 
years, I have prepared, myself, meals and delivered those for 
those that are shut in, and led my church's shut-in ministry.
    On a personal note, I met my wife, Millicent, at our 
church. We have been married for 6 years. We have a 3-year-old 
son. His name is Quinn. Faith and family are the cornerstones 
of our lives.
    I share this background of legal experience, business 
acumen, service to my community and State, and my appreciation 
for what TVA has meant to my family and to my community because 
it demonstrates the values and experiences I would bring to the 
TVA board if confirmed.
    Today, I commit to bringing strong leadership, common 
sense, and accountability to the people TVA serves. I will 
never lose sight of the communities like my hometown of Persia, 
Tennessee, and the common man and the common woman. I will be a 
voice for the mission and values that were set forth nearly 100 
years ago in the founding of the Tennessee Valley Authority.
    Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Hagood follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
    
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Mr. Jones?

 STATEMENT OF RANDALL JONES, OF ALABAMA, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE 
      BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

    Mr. Jones. Thank you, Chairman Capito and Ranking Member 
Whitehouse and members of the committee. It is a privilege to 
appear before you today, and I am deeply honored to have been 
nominated by President Trump to serve on the Tennessee Valley 
Authority Board of Directors.
    I want to thank my good friend, Senator Tuberville, for the 
kind introduction and support. I am also appreciative to have 
the support from Senator Katie Britt, and my long-time friend 
and hometown Congressman Robert Aderholt.
    Speaking of my home town, Guntersville, Alabama, the Mayor 
of Guntersville, Leigh Dollar, is here, along with several 
friends from back home. My wife, Deborah, is also here, and I 
am appreciative for all their support.
    I come before you not only as a 50-year resident of 
Guntersville, Alabama, but as someone who has seen first-hand 
the vital role the Tennessee Valley Authority plays in 
balancing the three Es: energy, environment, and economic 
sustainability. TVA's original mission was to provide reliable, 
affordable, and sustainable power, and that mission remains 
critical today.
    I live on the Guntersville Reservoir in Marshall County, 
Alabama. In 1935, David Lilienthal, a TVA Board Member, 
addressed a crowd to hopefully alleviate the anxiety of local 
farmers and businessmen about the upcoming TVA project, the 
Guntersville Dam. The meeting was a success and 1 week later 
the citizens of Marshall County voted for complete cooperation 
with the project.
    The completion of the dam has been cited as the most 
important event in the history of Marshall County. On November 
6th, 1939, the Birmingham News reported that ``Guntersville is 
having a huge industrial expansion.'' The reporter quoted the 
Chamber of Commerce president who stated that power rates in 
Guntersville were reduced 30 percent because of the dam. Even 
now, our residential power rates remain 30 percent below those 
of neighboring providers. Hydroelectricity, the original 
renewable resource, still supplies about 9 percent of TVA's 
power.
    TVA provides power to over 153 power suppliers who in turn 
service over 10 million customers. From the largest to the 
smallest, these local power suppliers embody the standard of 
safety and service.
    I have had the privilege of serving on the city of 
Guntersville Electric Board since 2000. This is one of the 
smaller electric companies TVA serves. It has given me a 
greater understanding of the importance of a strong partnership 
between TVA and the local power companies, as well as the 
unique challenges those of us serving small, rural populations 
face.
    Also, for the past 18 years I have served on the board of 
trustees for Jacksonville State University which is a regional 
school in northeast Alabama serving over 10,000 students. For 
the past 6 years, I have served as chairman overseeing a budget 
of over $200 million dollars. In fact, Forbes just named the 
university as the No. 1 employer domiciled in the State of 
Alabama.
    I have also had the honor to serve on statewide boards over 
the years appointed by numerous Alabama Governors. The day I 
became chairman at Jacksonville State I realized that we are 
responsible to make sure our students' hard-earned tuition 
dollars are spent wisely to ensure a degree from that 
university has value. My driving philosophy, passion, humility, 
and integrity is in all that we do.
    I want to bring that same philosophy to the TVA Board. 
Where we can see a ratepayer, and they know we are good 
stewards of their hard-earned money and that we support them 
and generations to come.
    Living in Guntersville, I witness daily the natural beauty 
of our reservoirs. Bald eagles and ospreys, once endangered, 
are now abundant. White pelicans migrate through our waters, 
and anglers travel from across the Country to fish our lakes, 
widely considered among the best bass waters in the Country. 
Protecting this environment is inseparable from protecting our 
economy.
    Our region in north Alabama is experiencing unprecedented 
growth. While we welcome high-tech data centers and defense 
industry growth, we never lose sight of the families who 
receive a power bill every month, like the grandmother in 
Asbury, Alabama raising two grandchildren on $800 a month. For 
her, a 10 percent rate increase on her power bill could mean 
the difference between a meal or paying her power bill.
    Economic sustainability means ensuring that every decision 
balances opportunity with affordability for the people served.
    In closing, the decisions made by TVA today must stand the 
test of time. These are choices with consequences that will 
shape our region for the next 100 years.
    If confirmed, I am committed to focusing on energy 
reliability, environmental stewardship, and economic 
sustainability and ensuring that TVA will continue to fulfill 
its original mission and improve the lives of generations to 
come.
    Thank you.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Jones follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
    
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Now we will turn to Mr. Graham.

 STATEMENT OF ARTHUR GRAHAM, OF FLORIDA, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE 
      BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY

    Mr. Graham. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Before I start, I have to say I disagree with something 
that my colleague, Jeff Hagood, said. I believe my mom and my 
dad were the No. 1 parents in the world.
    [Laughter.]
    Mr. Graham. With that being said, Madam Chairwoman, Ranking 
Member, and members of the committee, I want to thank you for 
the opportunity to appear before you here today. My name is Art 
Graham. It is truly an honor and a blessing to have been 
nominated by the President to serve on the TVA Board of 
Directors.
    In this time of rapid growth, I believe the TVA has an 
incredible opportunity not just for the Valley but for the 
Country as a whole.
    I want to take a moment to share my life experiences with 
the Committee. Through my life, I have acquired a set of skills 
that I will refer to as my tools in my TVA toolbox. I have 
regulated utilities, both investor-owned and municipals; I have 
overseen budgets and large organizations; I have managed work 
force and safety issues; and I have contributed to the national 
energy policy.
    For 15 years, I have served on the Florida Public Service 
Commission, where I regulate utilities for the State of 
Florida. During this time, I have dealt with issues such as 
ensuring adequate generation, we have not had any rolling 
blackouts, storm hardening, grid reliability, and storm 
recovery, all while keeping rates affordable for families and 
businesses.
    Let me give you some perspective. Since COVID, we have had 
a residential growth in my State at a rate of 1,200 people per 
day. That is 1,200 people per day moving to the State of 
Florida. During that time, we have had seven hurricanes and 
still managed to keep rates affordable.
    On the national level, I have served on the executive 
committee and the board of directors for National Association 
of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). This is where I 
heard first-hand lessons learned from my peers throughout the 
United States.
    Prior to the Public Service Commission, I served on the 
city council and county commission of Jacksonville. This is 
where I learned to deal with municipal utilities from the 12th 
largest in the U.S. to one of the smallest. I dealt first-hand 
with the ``not in my back yard,'' or NIMBY issues, like where 
do we put the power generation, where do we put the 
substations, where do we put the poles.
    I have managed people and large organizations. I was the 
chief administrative officer for the PSC for over 5 years 
dealing with human resources, personnel management and the 
daily operation of a State agency.
    For 12 years, I worked in the paper industry, where I 
learned to deal with unions, Occupational Safety Health 
Administration (OSHA) requirements, work force and production. 
I can tell you, when the paper machine goes down, it is all 
hands-on deck just like when the power goes out. I will bring 
this same sense of urgency and operational knowledge with me to 
the TVA Board.
    I believe the above-mentioned tools and my engineering 
background makes me an valuable member for the President's team 
to take the TVA forward.
    What future, you may ask? I think the TVA has a key role in 
supporting rapid growth in the Tennessee Valley. Data centers, 
manufacturing, and residential growth are coming to the Valley 
at a pace that will require planning and decisive action.
    To be successful, the TVA must focus on expanding 
generation capacity and not prematurely closing down current 
generation; expanding into new nuclear technologies; and 
strengthening transmission to ensure reliability.
    In short, I believe true TVA leadership in these areas 
would not be just great for the Valley, but will also serve as 
a template for the United States as a whole. I believe this 
fits right into the administration's energy policies.
    Once again, I thank you for your time, and I hope I can 
count on your support.
    [The prepared statement of Mr. Graham follows:] 
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
    
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Before we begin questions, I would like, I have three 
standard questions I want to ask. I will go down the dais here 
to get a nod or a response.
    Do you agree, if confirmed, to appear before this 
committee, designated members of this committee, and other 
appropriate committees of this Congress to provide information 
subject to appropriate and necessary security protections with 
respect to your responsibilities? Mr. Graves?
    Mr. Graves. Yes, I do, Senator.
    Senator Capito. Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Yes, I do Senator.
    Senator Capito. Thank you. Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Yes, I do, Senator.
    Senator Capito. Mr. Graham?
    Mr. Graham. Yes, I do, Senator.
    Senator Capito. Okay. Do you agree to ensure that 
testimony, briefings, documents, and electronic and other forms 
of communication of information are provided to this committee, 
its staff and other appropriate committees in a timely manner?
    Mr. Graves. Yes, I do, Senator.
    Senator Capito. Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Yes, I do Senator.
    Senator Capito. Thank you. Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Yes, I do, Senator.
    Senator Capito. Mr. Graham?
    Mr. Graham. Yes.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Finally, do you know of any matters which may or may not 
have been disclosed that may place you in a conflict of 
interest if you are confirmed?
    Mr. Graves. I do not, Senator.
    Senator Capito. Thank you. Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. I do not, Chairman.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Mr. Jones. No, Chairman.
    Senator Capito. Mr. Graham?
    Mr. Graham. I do not.
    Senator Capito. All right, thank you very much.
    I am going to ask a question here, and I am going to, No. 
1, I think all of your opening statements were really, really 
good. I thank the families and friends and others who are here 
in support of you. I know filling out the forms and being able 
to meet all the standards is no picnic here.
    You have had a long trek to get here, and we appreciate it, 
and I know the support that others offer you is very valuable. 
Thank you for that.
    The Tennessee Valley power demand, I mentioned this in my 
opening statement, is projected to grow in the coming years. 
TVA's draft Integrated Resource Plan anticipates 26 gigawatts 
of new baseload energy generation capacity is needed over the 
next decade to ensure system reliability.
    Two questions. What do you see as the primary challenges to 
TVA providing affordable, reliable energy, and how would you 
work to address those challenges? I will start with Mr. Graves.
    Mr. Graves. Thank you for the question, Senator. You are 
right, the grid growth needs to happen, especially with AI and 
other things being added to the system.
    I think the Integrated Resource Plan is a critical tool to 
understanding what that demand is going to look like and what 
the portfolio should look like to be able to deliver that 
power. When I was at MLG&W, we did an integrated resource plan 
as well.
    The affordability, that is the core mission of TVA, is to 
provide affordable, reliable electricity. That has to be at the 
core of how we look at that.
    I do think nuclear power is going to have to play an 
extremely important part, and that is a costly venture to go 
into. There are things we will have to look at as a board of 
how we fund that going forward.
    Senator Capito. Right. Thank you.
    Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Yes, Senator. Thank you for that question.
    I agree in large part with my colleague. Our best hope is 
nuclear. I am bullish that the new Small Modular Reactors (SMR) 
technology, it has been around for a while, it gives me 
opportunity for hope. It is clear and I am hopeful about that.
    The International Registration Plan (IRP) that my colleague 
just mentioned is a critical thing that we are going to have to 
tackle as a board, if confirmed. That is a very, very critical 
thing.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Yes, Senator. If confirmed, I will commit to 
continue looking to carbon-free future technology and also 
increase the hydropower and the nuclear, which on the nuclear 
end of it, we need a sense of urgency.
    Senator Capito. All right. Mr. Graham? Did you have a 
comment on what the problems might be to--how are we going to 
get to these exponential gigawatts that we need to at the 
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)? You have probably dealt with 
this in Florida. What are the stumbling blocks? If you have a 
comment on that.
    Mr. Graham. Thank you, Chairman. I think No. 1 is to make 
sure that the numbers that people are talking about are 
legitimate. Is this a pipe dream, or is this actually going to 
come true? I believe it is, but----
    Senator Capito. Do you mean on the gigawatt side, do we 
really need all of that?
    Mr. Graham. Yes.
    Senator Capito. Okay.
    Mr. Graham. Yes. I think that needs to be verified and make 
sure that we have dotted our Is and crossed our Ts.
    I think the biggest opportunity, as some of my colleagues 
have said, is going to be nuclear, especially the SMRs. I think 
that is one of the things I am mostly excited about being on 
the TVA, because I think we have the opportunity to make that 
happen and try to make it happen as quick as we can. I think 
once we have done that, then we can use that as the template 
for everything else.
    I have seen what happened in Georgia with Vogtle, and how 
long that took. It went $16 billion over budget and it took an 
extra 6 years. Nobody wants to be the next one going down that 
path.
    Senator Capito. Right.
    Mr. Graham. I think SMRs is going to be the solution to 
that. I think TVA is in a position to be on top of that and 
have that sense of urgency to move forward with it.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    I am going to start with you this time. On economic 
development, I am particularly interested in this aspect of it, 
being an Appalachian myself, not served by the TVA but some 
very similar regions and pockets of our States that still have 
not developed.
    How do you see TVA being able to continue that mission but 
maybe change the mission, change the way the mission is 
delivered maybe for those remaining areas of the TVA 
Authority's area that have yet to be touched and being able to 
be a beneficiary of the economic development opportunities?
    Mr. Graham. Thank you, Senator, for that question. I think 
personally, TVA is primed for growth, is primed for 
opportunity.
    I have come from manufacturing, I have had several years 
working in paper mills, several years working around power 
boilers. I think the main thing you are going to need, you are 
going to need land, you are going to need access to water. I 
think TVA and the Valley area has an abundance of that.
    I think you could bring in opportunities that maybe can not 
fit other places, that will not fit in New York City, that will 
not fit some places in Miami, that sort of thing. I think it is 
just a matter of making sure you chase after the right 
industries that fit in those locations.
    I can tell you, being in Jacksonville, we are a very pro-
military town and we have a lot of blue-collar people that put 
in their 20 years and are looking for something to do 
afterwards. We used to argue all the time, do we chase after 
Google or Microsoft, or do we chase after some of these 
manufacturing outfits? We have the work force there that can 
come in, go to work every single day and do the job. They have 
already proved it by serving our Country for 20 years.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Thank you for that question. It is near and dear 
to my heart, living in Guntersville, Alabama, being in a rural 
area, knowing what it takes to run a power line out to a mobile 
home that is a quarter mile off the main road, and making sure 
they have sustainable, affordable power and that those folks 
are taken care of.
    At the same time, partnering with the local power 
companies. Weatherization, the solar programs on rooftops, 
working that way right there and the partnering, I think, with 
the local power companies is very important as far as the 
economy and economic growth.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Thank you for that question.
    Senator, when I heard you ask that question, I could not 
help but think about broadband. Broadband was not, of course, 
in the TVA Act of 1933. TVA is not in the broadband business. 
TVA ought to do everything that they can to help local telecoms 
and the local power providers, make that happen, particularly 
in the rural areas, which I grew up in a rural area. It is very 
near and dear to my heart.
    Senator Capito. I agree with that wholeheartedly.
    Mr. Graves?
    Mr. Graves. Thank you, Senator. The TVA Act was for rural 
communities, and to serve them not just with electricity but 
bring economic development to those areas. We see that 
happening today in the Tennessee Valley. A great example is the 
BlueOval, the Ford plant in Brownsville, Tennessee, which is a 
rural community, that has brought jobs and economic 
development.
    I do not think it is changing the mission; I think it is 
refocusing back on our original mission. Thank you.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Mr. Whitehouse?
    Senator Whitehouse. Senator Kelly is here under a bit of a 
time crunch. If the Chairman will permit, I will let him go 
ahead.
    Senator Capito. Oh, sure. Senator Kelly, go forward.
    Senator Kelly. Thank you, Madam Chair, thank you, Senator 
Whitehouse and thank you to all the nominees for being here 
today. It was nice to see you all in my office yesterday. I 
wanted to talk about one of the topics we discussed in that 
meeting, which is the data center construction across the 
Country.
    My understanding is that TVA, that region uses about 17,000 
megawatt hours of energy on an hourly basis right now. Some 
reports indicate that the TVA region is seeing demand from data 
centers that could add an additional 11,000 megawatt hours to 
what is currently being used.
    While acknowledging that these estimates may be bullish, we 
can reasonably expect that the region will need to 
significantly increase the amount of power that it produces and 
the energy it consumes.
    I recently put out a policy framework called AI for 
America, which argues that utilities need to make sure that the 
cost of adding new generation capacity is borne by these large 
power users, not families and not small businesses who 
sometimes have to struggle to pay their utility bills. This 
could include innovative power purchase agreements that better 
account for up-front costs and encourages long-term investments 
to make our aging grid more resilient.
    I would like to hear from each of you on this. How would 
you handle the unprecedented demand from data centers in the 
TVA region and how will you protect ratepayers; how would you 
protect them from rate hikes caused by the increased demand?
    We will start with Mr. Graves.
    Mr. Graves. Thank you for that question, Senator.
    One hundred percent agree with you. It cannot be on the 
back of ratepayers. I come from Memphis, Tennessee. We have an 
extremely high poverty level. Loading on more utility expense 
to the backs of their paycheck is just not doable.
    I do agree with you, power purchase agreements are 
something that this board will need to look at. Again, AI is 
out of the bag. It is not going back in. We have to figure out 
how to deal with that, and the energy demands for that.
    Thank you.
    Senator Kelly. Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Thank you, Senator, for that question. I 
certainly enjoyed the few minutes with you yesterday. Thank you 
for that.
    I totally agree; costs should not be borne by large 
corporations and passed onto the back of our ratepayers. I am 
on the other end of the State from my colleague here to my 
right. I grew up in a very rural area. That is a very important 
issue to me, and thank you for that question.
    Senator Kelly. Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Thank you, and I enjoyed time with you 
yesterday. On the data centers, that is all we are hearing 
about now, data centers everywhere. However, when they come in, 
what is it going to cost to supply the power for that? What if 
they leave 5 years from now and we are left holding the bag?
    There has to be a partnership, through bonds, or a bond for 
them to say, hey, if you are not here longer than 20 years, you 
are going to pay for this power, because we cannot put it on 
the backs of the grandmother in Asbury, Alabama, that is trying 
to feed two children.
    Senator Kelly. Mr. Graham?
    Mr. Graham. Thank you, Senator. In observance of the time, 
I agree with my colleagues. We have something we call cost 
causation. Basically the cost causer is the one that has to 
support all that cost. We have to figure out an effective way 
of making sure that happens.
    Senator Kelly. Do each of you agree that maybe we should 
consider a separate rate class for data centers?
    Mr. Graves. Thank you for the question, Senator. I think 
that is something that the board would explore in the future.
    Senator Kelly. Okay.
    Mr. Hagood. Senator, thank you for that question. I think 
that is very worthy of consideration. If confirmed, I certainly 
would look into that and be happy to report back to you about 
that.
    Senator Kelly. Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Absolutely a different rate class, but at the 
same time, I hope that the data centers pay for their own power 
that they have provided themselves.
    Senator Kelly. All right. Then finally, this unprecedented 
demand for new energy, and it is significant, we might have to 
double, in Maricopa County, the amount available. I think we 
need an approach that looks at all available, most available 
options. Some gas, nuclear, hydropower, and renewables, 
certainly, like solar and wind.
    Quickly, in the remaining time, do each of you feel that we 
should consider renewable energy, like solar, wind, battery 
storage, as part of the solution?
    Mr. Graves. Thank you for the question, Senator. Yes, I 
think we have to look at all energy generation. We are not 
going to have any option but to look at everything.
    Senator Kelly. Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Yes, Senator, thank you. Everything should be 
on the table.
    Senator Kelly. Right. Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Absolutely, yes, sir.
    Senator Kelly. Mr. Graham?
    Mr. Graham. Yes, Senator, I think a diverse grid is a 
resilient grid. I agree.
    Senator Kelly. All right. Thank you all, and thank you, 
Madam Chair.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Senator Wicker?
    Senator Wicker. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am going to use 
some of that same stretched 5 minutes that our distinguished 
Chair used.
    I am from Mississippi. We already have our member on the 
board, Bill Renick, who was chairman of the Tennessee Valley 
Authority board. His term does not expire until 2027. I am glad 
that Tennessee is getting two more, and now Alabama will have 
its share.
    Mississippi is actually the second highest user of TVA. 
Tennessee has 52 percent of the total area covered by TVA, and 
after that is Mississippi at 19 percent, Alabama down at 11. We 
are not Tennessee, totally TVA, we can compare. I can just say 
that TVA, where it is available in Mississippi, is quite 
appreciated and quite popular.
    There was some statement made about acting boldly and I 
certainly want to commend, and I think I see from the 
testimony, Madam Chair, Mr. Ranking Member, that there is much 
appreciation for the bold action of TVA in recent years.
    The Clinch River project will be one of the first, at the 
forefront of new nuclear development in the United States, 
currently, two to 3 years ahead of anyone else in terms of 
SMRs.
    In my own State of Mississippi, we are benefiting from the 
rates that give us economic expansion, GE Aerospace that just 
recently expanded in Panola County, near Batesville, the Golden 
Triangle, Columbus, Starkville and West Point, home of 
Mississippi State University there in Starkville is now home to 
five TVA certified mega sites. TVA is advancing plans to build 
a simple cycle nuclear, I mean natural gas plant.
    It is just astounding, the things that are happening. When 
complete, the New Caledonia site in East Mississippi will bring 
500 megawatts to the grid, enough to power 250,000 homes, which 
is quite a big area in a rural State like Mississippi.
    There is a company called OKLO which is out of Oak Ridge, 
in Mr. Hagood's neighborhood. It has an advanced nuclear 
technology company that will invest nearly $1.7 billion to 
build fuel recycling right there in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The 
folks there are thrilled about this, and it again, speaks to 
the vision of the current and past leadership. The facility is 
located on a 247-acre site at Oak Ridge Heritage Center.
    There is also an outfit called ENTRA1 Energy, that will 
collaborate with TVA to provide up to 6 gigawatts of new 
nuclear power generation onsites in TVA's seven-State region. 
This will eventually be able to power the equivalent of 
approximately 4.6 million homes, or 60 of these new power 
consuming data centers, which we are all concerned about and 
which I join my friend, Mr. Kelly, from.
    Google, Kairos, they are bringing transformational change 
in the nuclear energy area field to TVA. TVA is the first U.S. 
utility to sign a (Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to buy 
electricity from advanced generation 4 reactor, and Hermes 2 is 
the first deployment under Kairos' Power landmark deal with 
Google.
    I could go on and on. Not to mention the charities and non-
profits that TVA supports. TVA Bicentennial Volunteers, 
$655,000 in robotics awards. Yes, TVA prices are still 
something that we benefit from in Appalachia, Madam Chair. I 
certainly appreciate that.
    I am so impressed, and I am going to take some extra time 
if you do not mind, and I know my friend from Massachusetts 
will not mind, because I listened to him for over an hour 
yesterday in the Commerce Committee.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Wicker. He is a dear friend of mine.
    Let me just, going through the testimony today, Mr. Graves 
knows it well, and I grew up watching Memphis TV, I am so old 
that we did not have TV in Tupelo, we had to watch Memphis 
until I got on up to the teenage years. I know about MLGW.
    Mr. Graves said Memphis and the Valley region are well 
served by TVA. Thank you for saying that. We can do better, but 
I think most people in the Memphis viewing area and in MLGW 
area agree with that.
    Madam Chair, Mr. Hagood's testimony is they had an 
opportunity to look at other providers that made outreach to 
them and said no, we are going to stick with TVA, because they 
have served us better and they will serve us better.
    Mr. Hagood says, ``Today, TVA continues to drive energy 
production, economic development and access to natural 
resources across the region.'' Mr. Jones, as somebody who 
frequently goes by Lake Guntersville and who, every chance I 
get, goes to Pickwick Reservoir in the northeast corner of the 
State of Mississippi, yes, I mean, we love TVA's power 
generation and yes, almost 10 percent is still hydropower, and 
that is renewable as far as I am concerned.
    That wonderful Lake Guntersville, that is an economic 
engine for the area and the same for Pickwick Reservoir. Mr. 
Jones says, ``Even now our residential power rates remain 30 
percent below those of neighboring providers.'' This is a great 
testimony and kudos to the President, my colleagues, for 
bringing someone in from outside the TVA area to bring some new 
thought.
    Mr. Graham, he knows what he is doing, it is obvious, 
because he has been doing this in Jacksonville. He is also 
aware of this NIMBY issue. In his testimony he says he is aware 
of the ``not in my back yard'' people. There has to be a 
balance here, because somebody's back yard has got to generate 
power, and we need to be mindful of those folks but we also 
need to be mindful, it has to come from somewhere.
    Also, I appreciate Mr. Graham saying we can not prematurely 
close down current generation and make the contribution to 
generation that Mr. Kelly and others have alluded to. We are 
going to have to do it right and yes, nuclear and renewable is 
the way to go.
    I appreciate the acknowledgement from these fine witnesses 
who I intend to vote for in acknowledging the contribution and 
the great work that TVA has done and yes, the economic 
development and jobs are there. I look forward to the board, 
which has been working mighty hard, but now they have a quorum, 
being complemented by these witnesses.
    Thank you for that extended 5 minutes, Madam Chair.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Senator Whitehouse?
    Senator Whitehouse. Thanks very much, Chairman, and welcome 
to all the nominees. Thank you for your visit to my office 
yesterday.
    Unlike Mr. Hagood, I did not have the wisdom to start my 
own practice, but spent my early years as the junior new kid in 
the attorney general's office where they came in and handed me 
utility regulation. Nobody else wanted it. I was the new kid; I 
had to do it.
    I have learned a lot from those early days. One of the 
things I have learned is that the way the grid works is that 
usually nukes run constantly because they are low marginal 
cost, and then usually solar comes on next, because it is the 
next lower operating cost, followed by wind and then the grid 
price set by the most expensive unit that has to be called up 
is almost always a fossil fuel unit.
    If you remove clean energy from the grid, what you are 
doing is requiring for the same level of demand that more and 
more expensive fossil fuel powered units get called up. That 
raises costs for everybody on the grid, in most grids where 
that last unit called up is the price setter.
    Now, I know it is a little bit different on the TVA grid 
where you use a more blended grid. I think the principle holds 
that if you suppress the lower cost forms of power, you drive 
prices up for your ratepayers even if it is only on an average 
basis and not on a grid-wide basis.
    In that light, I would like to ask if each of you will 
honor the board-approved retirement timelines for the Kingston 
and Cumberland coal generating stations? We can just go right 
across, if you do not mind.
    Mr. Graves. Thank you for that question, Senator. I think 
it is a little bit more complicated than answering yes or no. I 
think we have got to use all of our energy sources right now to 
meet the demand.
    I think you heard me mention earlier the Integrated 
Resource Plan which ought to be the strategy document for TVA. 
We have looked at that at a very high level. We are going to 
have to dig into the details.
    Senator Whitehouse. Do you plan to honor the existing 
Integrated Resource Plan? Or are you going to change that?
    Mr. Graves. Senator, I think we will have a new Integrated 
Resource Plan here within the year.
    Senator Whitehouse. Okay. Is that pretty much the same 
answer across the board? Anybody prepared to commit to honoring 
the Cumberland and Kingston Station Plan?
    Mr. Hagood. Thank you, Senator. My answer would be the same 
as my colleague on the right.
    Senator Whitehouse. Mr. Jones, the same?
    Mr. Jones. Until I am confirmed, I would like to look into 
this and see, because I do believe in the renewables and 
carbon-free.
    Senator Whitehouse. Mr. Graham? Same?
    Mr. Graham. Pretty much the same, sir.
    Senator Whitehouse. One of the other things I wanted to ask 
you, we talked about this a little bit when we were together, 
if you go to the Kingston Station and the Cumberland Station, 
they boil water with coal. The steam then runs through steam 
turbines and that runs generators that send out power through 
transformers that link to the grid connections and the 
transmission lines. In addition to all of that mechanical-
electrical infrastructure, you also have the all-important 
community infrastructure of the work force there, the men and 
women who have the expert knowledge and experience to run those 
facilities.
    I want to ask each of you to assure me that you will give 
an honest, hard look at whether small modular reactors create 
the opportunity to boil that water at those stations and 
protect the rest of the infrastructure and the work force 
around it while still meeting the board-approved goals 
regarding those two stations.
    Mr. Graves. Ranking Member, we talked about that yesterday. 
I found that to be an intriguing concept. Yes, I think we 
should explore that. It should lower costs of the program as 
well and timeframe if we can leave portions of it in place and 
only replace the heating element.
    Senator Whitehouse. If you are trying to locate a new small 
modular system station somewhere, and you have to start from 
scratch, and you have to deal with siting issues and you have 
to build the steam turbines, the generators, the transformers, 
the transmission and the work force, you are in a much 
different proposition than you are if most of that is already 
there and you are just boiling water a new, cleaner, safer way.
    Mr. Graves. Senator, as I said, yes, I found that 
intriguing. It was a takeaway----
    Senator Whitehouse. Will you take an honest look at it?
    Mr. Graves. Yes, sir, Senator, thank you. I certainly would 
take an honest, hard look at it.
    Mr. Jones. Yes, sir, and to me again, we talk about 
nuclear. We have got to have a sense of urgency to make this 
happen and then to put it in place.
    Senator Whitehouse. Mr. Graham?
    Mr. Graham. Senator, thank you. I think it is a fantastic 
idea. I have talked about before about when you are talking 
about new nuclear and you have to ``nuclearize'' the entire 
site, I do not think you need to do that. I think you just do a 
black box, you just do, where the power is generated, you do 
not have to worry about the water and the steam generation. You 
do not have to worry about anything on this side, just that 
area.
    I think in your scenario, you can take the same black box 
and put it anywhere. I think it is a great way of retrofitting 
old plants.
    Senator Whitehouse. My time is expired. Let me ask each of 
you to be responsive to the questions for the record that I am 
going to file for you to answer, so you can take more than 5 
minutes and reflect a bit first.
    In particular, I am going to be asking you to reflect on 
the fact that I believe is true, that if you suppress wind and 
solar power and perhaps battery support for wind and solar 
power, you are virtually inevitably raising costs for your TVA 
ratepayers at the end of the day.
    Thank you.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Senator Markey?
    Senator Markey. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    I am a big fan of public power. I know communities and 
labor are as well. Why? It is a win-win-win. Public power puts 
local communities before investor profits. It pays workers what 
they deserve and it keeps energy affordable. In fact, because 
of its public power model, the Tennessee Valley Authority's 
electricity is cheaper thank over 70 percent of our Nation.
    Yes or no, going down the line, do you support the 
privatization of TVA? Yes or no.
    Mr. Graves. No.
    Mr. Hagood. Thank you, Senator, for that question. The 
answer is no, sir.
    Mr. Jones. No, sir.
    Mr. Graham. Senator, thank you very much for that question. 
I have experienced both public utility and investor-owned 
utility. I think there is absolutely no reason to do anything 
different here.
    Senator Markey, . The answer is no?
    Mr. Graham. I believe that is correct. Yes.
    Senator Markey. Good. Thank you. I appreciate it.
    I just want to dig a little deeper. Yes or no, going down 
the line, do you agree, do you agree not to sell of any 
portions of the service region, including transmission, hydro 
or public land assets?
    Mr. Graves. Senator, I do not think that is the board's 
decision. I think we uphold the TVA Act, which is enacted by 
you guys.
    Senator Markey. Do you agree not to sell off any of the 
portions of the service region, Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Senator, I agree with my colleague; that would 
be my answer. Thank you, sir.
    Mr. Jones. Yes, sir, I do not see any reason why to sell of 
TVA's assets off.
    Senator Markey. Thank you. That is the correct answer, yes.
    Mr. Graham. Sir, until I hear something different, I do not 
see any need to make any changes as far as selling off assets.
    Senator Markey. Thank you.
    At a time when utility bills are going up across the 
Country because of Trump's anti-energy policies, it is more 
important than ever to have public power that is responsive to 
the region's Main Street needs, not Wall Street shareholders. 
Privatization would be a direct threat to both TVA customers 
and TVA's work force.
    Yes or no, going down the line, do you agree to maintain 
strong collective bargaining relationships and protect good-
paying union jobs? Mr. Graves?
    Mr. Graves. Thank you, Senator. I have not read the 
collective bargaining, but I agree to do that and make a 
decision after I fully understand it.
    Senator Markey. Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Senator, thank you for that question. I believe 
that TVA's employees, as of maybe 6 months or a year ago, were 
55, 57 percent union. The answer is yes.
    Senator Markey. You would make a commitment to continue 
collective bargaining?
    Mr. Hagood. I would make every commitment to look into 
that.
    Senator Markey. That is not a commitment.
    Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Yes, sir, I would.
    Senator Markey. Thank you, sir.
    Mr. Graham. Senator, I think it is working very well right 
now. I have no desire to get in there and make that change.
    Senator Markey. Thank you, sir. Yes, we need a commitment 
to public power. We need a commitment to public power 
employees, union workers who are doing the job right now.
    This is an astonishing number, but only 4 percent of TVA's 
energy portfolio is currently comprised of wind or solar. Just 
a staggeringly low number.
    By comparison, in my own home State of Massachusetts, where 
Senator Schiff was born and raised as a boy, still a Red Sox 
fan, it is not the sunniest place, Massachusetts. Last year, 25 
percent of our electricity came from wind and solar. Only 4 
percent in the TVA, where it is a lot sunnier.
    The good news is that the TVA has a large stock of carbon-
free power and has recognized the benefits of moving toward 
clean, reliable, affordable energy, setting a target of 10,000 
megawatts of solar by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
    Yes or no, going down the line, do you commit to adhering 
to TVA's target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050? Mr. 
Graves?
    Mr. Graves. Senator, that is tough to answer yes or no to. 
I think we are in the middle of an Integrated Resource Plan 
which is taking a look at future demand and our energy 
generation----
    Senator Markey. TVA has a stated goal to be net-zero by the 
year 2050. Do you commit to fulfilling that plan?
    Mr. Graves. Senator, I commit to making sure we have got 
enough power to take care of our citizens.
    Senator Markey. You are not committing.
    Mr. Hagood?
    Mr. Hagood. Senator, thank you for that question. I think 
because of the great power need, I think that probably has to 
be reevaluated.
    Senator Markey. Yes, I think I can hear what the two of you 
are saying pretty clearly.
    Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Senator, currently over 50 percent of the power 
generated by TVA is carbon-free. We hope to keep on striving on 
that.
    Also, on the 4 percent, I would love to also include hydro, 
which is the original renewable resource.
    Senator Markey. I appreciate that. How about----
    Mr. Jones. That makes us 13 percent.
    Senator Markey. Is the answer yes?
    Mr. Jones. Yes, sir.
    Senator Markey. You commit to that goal?
    Mr. Jones. I commit to see what we can--I can not promise 
that is going to happen because of the need for power.
    Senator Markey. Four percent renewables is all you have 
right now.
    Mr. Jones. Needs to be a go.
    Senator Markey. It is sad. Yes, sir, Mr. Graham.
    Mr. Graham. Thank you, Senator. Can I get you to repeat the 
question, please?
    Senator Markey. Yes. The question is, do you commit to 
adhering to TVA's target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050? 
It is the existing goal of the TVA. Do you commit to adhering 
to that?
    Mr. Graham. I commit to looking into it.
    Senator Markey. Well, again, TVA should be the cutting edge 
leader. They are already on third base with a lead. You have 
incredible resources down there. It is sunny almost every day 
in that region, which it is not in Massachusetts.
    I think it is a pretty sad commentary that we are not 
getting a more enthusiastic response to the goal of deploying 
renewables and meeting the goal, which was established years 
ago, which is eminently achievable. It is just still a 
continuing sad commentary on the vision which the TVA has.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Senator Capito. Senator Schiff?
    Senator Schiff. Thank you, Madam Chair. As is often the 
case, Senator Markey asked many of the questions I was going to 
ask. I will not repeat those questions for you.
    I appreciate the opportunity we had to meet in my office. I 
share Senator Markey's view; public power has helped keep 
energy affordable in TVA. It has attracted industry, it has 
strengthened rural communities for decades, going back to the 
establishment of the TVA under Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New 
Deal.
    I think that public power model is the best path forward 
for TVA, and I was glad to hear in our conversations and again 
in committee that you are committed to retaining the public 
power model.
    I strongly disagree with any effort at privatization of TVA 
assets or moving away, selling away the resources of TVA, which 
has proven so successful. I also think it is vitally important 
that you honor the collective bargaining agreements that are in 
force, and that you make it possible for people to collectively 
bargain and make the choice to form a union or not form a 
union, that that be free and unfettered.
    Let me turn to the last topic the Senator asked you about, 
but maybe with one specific. I understand that the TVA board 
approved the retirement of two of the four coal plants in TVA's 
service area. The 2025 TVA Integrated Resource Plan forecast 
that all coal units will retire by 2035. Are you committed to 
maintaining a course with the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan 
when it comes to coal retirement? Mr. Graves?
    Mr. Graves. Thank you for the question, Senator. I do 
believe we need to maintain as a public utility company.
    It may be a struggle to meet those targets, just because of 
the increased demand. Again, we hope to be able to learn more 
and figure out how to move forward with our Integrated Resource 
Plan, which is going to tell us what we need and how we fulfill 
that need. I think right now it may be hard to make those 
targets.
    Senator Schiff. Well, I think a lot of that increased 
demand may come from data centers. In connection with 
negotiations over companies that want to establish data 
centers, there is an opportunity for you to maintain the 
climate goals that have been set and to maintain the retirement 
schedule that has been set for the coal plants.
    I do not think generically increased demand is a reason to 
continue coal plants that have properly been scheduled for 
retirement.
    Mr. Hagood, what is your view?
    Mr. Hagood. Senator, thank you, and thank you for meeting 
with us yesterday. I do think it would be hard to meet those 
goals.
    Senator Schiff. You are not committed to retiring the coal 
plants, then?
    Mr. Hagood. With the situation with the great power demand 
in our Country, Senator, I do not think I can.
    Senator Schiff. If it is necessary to accommodate new data 
centers, your view would be, let us keep the coal plants going, 
rather than, let us require the data centers to participate in 
generation of cleaner energy?
    Mr. Hagood. Senator, thank you. My goal would be to, 
everything is on the table to meet the power, the growing power 
demand. That would be my answer.
    Senator Schiff. Mr. Jones?
    Mr. Jones. Senator, if confirmed, this will be one of my 
top priorities, to look into this. The data centers are going 
to require so much power. There was an article in the Wall 
Street Journal this week about bringing your own power.
    Hopefully, those data centers can be bringing in the 
renewables, carbon-free power to sustain the power for them, 
which in turn would take less stress off of our grid and our 
power generations and increase more solar power and hydro. I am 
a big fan of hydro.
    Senator Schiff. Mr. Jones, I agree to a point, and that is 
when you say you would hope that these new data centers and the 
companies behind them would bring in renewable energy. You will 
have the power to insist that that is where the new energy 
comes from.
    Mr. Jones. Exactly.
    Senator Schiff. Your communities are going to suffer 
whatever deleterious impacts there are from these data centers. 
They may not create many jobs. If it is going to mean the coal 
plants remain open longer and people suffer the ill health 
effects, and do not get many jobs as a result, that does not 
look like a good bargain to me.
    I would ask you to keep that very much in mind.
    Mr. Graham, did you want to add anything on the question?
    Mr. Graham. Senator, thank you very much for that question.
    Data centers are all over the board. There are people that 
are excited about it, there are people that do not want it in 
their back yard. I think, and you were not here earlier, we 
talked about the No. 1 job that is going to be for us to figure 
out how much power generation we are going to need moving 
forward, today, tomorrow, next year, 5 years.
    Then once we figure out how much we need generation-wise, I 
can not see prematurely closing out some of these other plants 
until we have the generation to replace it. I am not saying you 
can not close them down, but until we have the generation to 
replace it, you can not.
    Senator Schiff. Well, thank you, Madam Chair.
    I would just say, just to conclude, I am glad you all 
expressed solid support for maintaining the public character of 
TVA. I hope never to learn that, should you be confirmed for 
these positions, that you do an about-face on that issue, which 
is of signal importance to me and to I think a lot of the 
Members of Congress.
    With that, Madam Chair, I yield back.
    Senator Capito. Thank you.
    Thank you. I think that will bring our meeting to 
conclusion. I would like, for the record, to ask for unanimous 
consent, I have letters of support for various nominees. 
Ordered.
    [The referenced information follows:]
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT] 
    
    Senator Capito. I will order it myself.
    [Laughter.]
    Senator Capito. I am not going to object to myself.
    I thank you all very much. I look forward to your 
confirmation. I will be voting for all of you. I think that the 
expertise that you bring, while varied, is extremely needed on 
the board, and we obviously have challenges ahead of us.
    Coming from a coal State, I have to say that we have 
powered generations of this Country for years, and we are going 
to continue to do that until we find a better way. That is what 
you all basically were, I think, signifying to us in your 
answers. I thank you for that.
    With no further questions, I would like to thank the 
nominees and all of my colleagues for their participation in 
today's hearing. Senators who wish to submit written questions 
for the record have until 5 p.m. this Friday, October 24th, to 
do so. The nominees' responses to those questions are due back 
to the committee no later than close of business on Monday, 
October 27th and will be submitted for the record.
    I would note, Ranking Member Whitehouse did make the 
comment that he will be submitting some questions to you. I 
would pay attention to that and to those dates that I 
expressed.
    With that, this hearing is adjourned. Thank you very much. 
Good luck.
    [Whereupon, at 11:31 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
  

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