TVA considering rate changes due to data centers

As discussions of data centers that require high power loads continue to develop, the Tennessee Valley Authority is considering changing its rates in a way to accommodate the growing demands without placing undue cost increases on residents.
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In May, 2026, the TVA shared a letter with 6 News that it sent to local power companies in February to begin the rate-changing process. The utility provider explained that it has continued to have frequent discussions with those local power companies and other customers about the proposed changes, and the TVA will be proposing actions for implementation to its board of directors in August at the earliest.
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TVA spokesperson Scott Brooks explained that in the last year, data centers made up around 18% of the TVA’s overall industrial load, and that number is expected to double by the year 2030.
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if it approved all of the data centers interested in coming to East Tennessee, there would be an increased power demand of 11,000 megawatts.
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According to KUB’s website, there are currently three data centers in its service area that have a range of energy usage. The largest of those data centers is contracted to use up to 73 megawatts of power...

From my research,
73 megawatts powers approximately 45,000 homes

11,000 megawatts powers approximately 5-6 million homes in the South or nearly 10 million in the Northeast

More needs to be done to rein in power consumption by these new "data centers." Then there is the noise problem and possible air pollution and water usage issues. Are they even that necessary?

Received an email from the U.S. Treasury, or so it says, wanting me to log in to my account and confirm my bank account.

"To check your bank account information on file, log into TreasuryDirect (we recommend typing “TreasuryDirect.gov” directly in your web browser)...

They don't want me to use the provided link, then why provide it? I'm not sure why they are sending this unsolicited email. The IRS doesn't send unsolicited emails. Why is the Treasury? What are they selling? What problem are they trying to correct (or causing)? Is the President going to try and sell me his bitcoin?

At Obama's Presidential Center on the Southside of Chicago. It was a time to be proud, to be happy, to have/give hope.

To George and Laura, Bill and Hillary — we're grateful for your friendship, counsel, and devotion to this country. And to Joe and Jill, thank you for being on this journey with us.

[image or embed]

— Barack Obama (@barackobama.bsky.social) June 18, 2026 at 3:57 PM

Bernie Sanders wants to spread the wealth.

Bernie Sanders pitches $1,000 annual payout from public ownership of AI.

Americans could receive an annual $1,000 payment from artificial intelligence companies under legislation Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced Thursday that would give the public a direct stake in the largest AI firms.

Not that this would ever, but he's thinking.

$853 in today’s dollars is the equivalent of $100 in 1970. The average inflation rate over the 50+ years is 3.9%. However, the $23,000 house we purchased in 1979 would cost $300,000+, not the average increase to $105,000.

Something has to give.

Sanders’s proposal adds to recent interest from across the political spectrum in the idea that economic disruption from AI could be offset by the U.S. government holding stakes in firms developing the technology.

A statement from the Bezos owned Washington Post. He, as is the case of many technology companies, wants government funds.

Well, I hope everybody had a Happy Watergate Day. It's been 54 years since the break-in, a calendar event we all should recognize. The plumbers' parade was a bit disappointing this year, but Republicans on Capitol Hill and President Trump in Europe kept up the Watergate Day spirit by making many "inoperative statements."

On January 7, 2009, two weeks before Obama’s inauguration, President George W. Bush invited all three former living presidents and the president-elect to the White House.

Now in 2026, no former President wants to be close to the current President.

As the staff of the Embassy Suites in Chattanooga, Tennessee, prepared to host hundreds of Spaniards this summer — including the 26 players hoping to produce Spain’s first World Cup title since 2010 — there were plenty of details to attend to, from the temperature of the steak to the ergonomics of the chairs.

But first: those pillows. The team wanted fresh ones, never been used, and firm. So 500 new pillows it was.

Sounds like "Small town" Chattanooga handled it well.

As Gen Z ditch books at record levels, students are arriving to classrooms unable to complete assigned reading on par with previous expectations.
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“It’s not even an inability to critically think,” Jessica Hooten Wilson, a professor of great books and humanities at Pepperdine University, told Fortune. “It’s an inability to read sentences.”
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Nearly half of all Americans did not read a single book in 2025, with the habit plunging some 40% over the last decade.
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“Even when you read it in class with them, there’s so much they can’t process about the very words that are on the page.”

It must be the Boomer generations fault. We read too much thus making it uncool.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation now expects work on the section of the Alcoa Highway Corridor Project from Woodson Drive to Cherokee Trail to be finished in Spring 2030.

Crews began working on this section in July 2023. At the time, 6 News reported that the section was projected to be finished in Fall 2027. The timeline was adjusted after engineers determined that there needed to be more wall enforcement near the Woodson Drive interchange to ensure long-term stability, TDOT said Thursday.

Drivers should continue to expect rolling roadblocks and other traffic control measures.

Yowza! It's an experience getting from South of the river (Alcoa Hwy side) and Blount County to UT Hospital. It's all in the timing or leaving an hour early.

The President "on Tuesday night appeared to defend his latest military strikes on Iran by posting a short clip from “The West Wing,” the popular NBC television drama about a fictional U.S. president, in which the show’s characters debate their own military action."

I was at the grocery store last week and the senior citizen behind me had a handful of $100 bills and some gift cards or prepaid credit cards, couldn't tell which. I was immediately concerned if she was getting scammed.

What do you do? What does the retailer do? I went and asked a manager if they have any procedure to ensure the woman was not getting scammed. The manager said they have no procedure and cannot interfere. I let it go. I can only hope the woman wasn't getting scammed.

However, for the future, banks and retailers need to adopt procedures to prevent senior citizens, or anyone, from losing there savings to a scammer.

With cybercrime continuing to rise, some banks are testing new prevention strategies. JPMorgan Chase hired a behavioral scientist.

The University of Tennessee Board of Trustees will consider proposals to increase undergraduate in-state tuition and mandatory fees for certain UT campuses during the Board’s annual meeting on June 30, 2026.

Tennessee law (Tennessee Code Annotated § 49-7-1603) requires boards of public universities to give public notice of proposed increases to tuition and mandatory fees charged to in-state undergraduate students at least fifteen (15) days prior to holding a public meeting to adopt the increases.

No tuition increase proposed for Knoxville campus, but there is a $148 (6.4%) mandatory fee increase. There are proposed tuition and fee increases for UT Chattanooga ($192/$130), UT Martin ($272/$52), and UT Southern ($298/$40) .

The comment period will close Monday, June 22, at 6pm Eastern/5pm Central.

UT in-state tuition/fees are more expensive than Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

‘I’ve Had Enough!’ Trump Storms Out of Meet the Press Interview in Wild Fashion — Explodes On NBC’s Kristen Welker After She Hits Him With Fact Checks"
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Welker pressed.

“But there is no evidence that people who—” Welker said, before Trump interjected.

Video

Bravo Kristen Welker. A strong woman. The President went rabid. I thought he was going to attack her.

Fact-checking Trump’s interview with NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’

Several diabetes experts were escorted out of an influential medical conference by the police on Friday after they handed out copies of an editorial criticizing the Trump administration’s attacks on scientific research.
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The researchers were handing out copies of the editorial, recently published in the association’s flagship journal, which detailed the effects of N.I.H. cuts and other Trump administration actions on diabetes research and outcomes, when security staff asked them to step outside and tried to take away the papers...

Video: Police Tussle With Diabetes Experts at ADA Meeting

Tactics from the 30s, 40s, 50s.

I sent a question via a retail business chat bot. A very simple question. They responded 6 times asking me to rephrase my question. There are only so many ways you can provide a very simple question. Alas, I gave up and they lost a sale.

Republican candidate for Knox County sheriff, Mike Davis, is contesting the Republican Primary for sheriff after two of the former candidates were indicted.

The Tennessee Republican Party board has announced that it will meet at the TNGOP Headquarters next week to decide which Knox County Sheriff's candidate will be on the ballot in August...
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Just days after the election, second-place candidate David Amburn and fourth-place candidate Jimmy "J.J." Jones were indicted on felony charges of theft...
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State GOP chairman Scott Golden told 10News that during the June 10th meeting, anyone will be allowed to express their concerns to the board about the primary results.

Well... I could look at it a different way. The indicted candidates are still considered innocent, thus the primary election is valid, thus whoever won wins.

U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis, TN) announced that he is filing six articles of impeachment against the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, John Roberts.
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The six articles of impeachment were summarized by Cohen in a statement:

1) The Chief Justice has allowed the court to become a partisan force, breaking the constitutional guarantee of a republican form of government.
2) Under Roberts’ leadership, the court has systemically given preferential treatment to the wealthy over the people.
3) The Chief Justice has violated his oath of office to do, “equal right to the poor and the rich” by endorsing a campaign finance system that favors the wealthy at the expense of the citizenry.
4) The Chief Justice violated the Constitution and judicial oath by usurping Congressional legislative roles and exempting the President from criminal liability for his conduct.
5) The Chief Justice’s leadership has made decisions in an arbitrary, unexplained, and inconsistent way that violates Constitutional protections.
6) Chief Justice Roberts violated statutory and ethical obligations regarding financial disclosures such as reporting assets which presented the perception of conflicts of interest.

From House.gov
Congressman Cohen Introduces Six Articles of Impeachment Against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts

The President "has at various points in the last few weeks said he doesn’t care about the negotiations to end his Iran war, about the upcoming 2026 midterms in which Republicans may take a big hit because of his administration, or about Americans’ financial situations."

“It’s a new message,” Democratic strategist James Carville said. “I’ve never in all my years in politics, I’ve never heard the leader of a political party say ‘I don’t care if we win the election or not, matters nothing to me.’”

Another first for the President.

Comics by Jeff Stahler

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier on Monday sued OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging that the company marketed ChatGPT to the public without sufficiently warning of its dangers.

I'm not that wild about Florida's government. However, I do think they might have something in this lawsuit. It's amazing how many people don't understand Googling for information much less using AI to get answers.