KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - The Tennessee Valley Authority voted Tuesday to extend an electric rate freeze to a fifth consecutive year while still paying down debt, reducing pollution and reviving an old nuclear reactor. <br>
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TVA Chairman Glenn McCullough said, ``I think it is a good plan and I think we will achieve these goals.'' <br>
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TVA directors Skyla Harris and Bill Baxter also voted in favor of the seven billion dollars spending plan for the 2003 fiscal year beginning October 1. <br>
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TVA is the nation's largest public power utility, serving customers in Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia. <br>
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The federal agency estimates residential power sales this year are down two percent and revenues are off some $355 million because of a warm winter and a mild summer. Still, the agency predicts it will end the year with an $80 million profit on $6.7 billion in revenue. <br>
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In fiscal 2003, the agency is predicting revenue of $7.1 billion and its highest sales volume since 1998.
