Tennessee Valley Authority

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Tennessee Valley Authority's first quarter fiscal year 2025 conference call. For your information, today's call is being recorded. All participants will be in listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. At this time, for opening remarks, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Clifton Lowery TVA Vice President of Financial Planning and Investor Relations. Mr. Lowery, please go ahead.

Mr. Thank you, Gary. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Tennessee Valley Authority's first quarter fiscal year 2025 financial review. Today I have with me TVA's Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Lyash, and TVA's Chief Financial Officer, Tom Rice. Jeff will begin with a business update, then Tom will follow with a review of TVA's financial performance. After their prepared remarks, the call will be opened up to give participants the opportunity to ask questions and a few housekeeping items before we begin. Today's press release and TVA's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter ended December 31, 2024 are available on TVA's website at tba.com. And a replay of this webcast will also be available on TVA's website for a period of one year. Today's discussion may include forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties, so please refer to TVA's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and TVA's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2024, for a discussion of these factors. With that, I'll now turn the call over to TVA's President, Chief Executive Officer Jeff Lyash.

Jeff Lyash Thank you, Clifton. Good morning, everyone. So you might have heard that last week I announced that I'm planning on retiring from TVA no later than the end of the fiscal year. For the past six years, it's been my privilege to serve with an experienced and talented team here at TVA. TVA truly is a special place. It was created more than 90 years ago to improve the quality of life for more than 10 million people across this region. That mission of service continues to be our focus today. The stability and growth of our regional economy and the lives of the people we serve depend on our commitment to delivering affordable, reliable, resilient, and sustainable energy. And I'll continue to lead TVA until the Board of Directors selects a successor and we have the time to do an orderly transition. And let me assure you, we're built for this. Over the past several years, We've been intentional about growing and developing talent across the organization. And today, we have a strong and experienced team capable of leading TVA forward. I appreciate your partnership, support, and friendship over the last six years. I also want to take a moment to extend a special congratulations to John Thomas, who's retiring from TVA after almost 20 years of service. John took the reins as Chief Financial Officer in 2010, and in his time leading our strategy and finance functions, John guided TVA to the best financial health in its 90-year history. John developed and implemented a long-range plan that cut debt to the lowest level in over 30 years, reduced cost, improved efficiency, while keeping TVA's power rates among the lowest in the country. even as we invested billions in TVA's power system. His financial leadership also put TVA in a position to help our customers and communities recover from the pandemic, providing over $670 million in relief credits when the need was the greatest. There is no question that his efforts have helped improve the quality of life in the Tennessee Valley. Now, what John would tell you he is most proud of is building a high-performing organization with financial leaders that will continue to work for all the people of this region. One of these great leaders is Tom Rice, who's been named as John's successor. Tom currently directs all of TVA's financial functions, including treasury, risk management, accounting, financial operations and performance, financial planning, and investor relations. Tom joined TVA in 2002 and has held roles of increasing responsibility across the organization. His experience positions him well to serve as the company's new chief financial officer. So thank you, John, for your service in the Tennessee Valley region, and congratulations on a well-deserved retirement. And congratulations to Tom. on your appointment as TVA's new CFO. Our ongoing work in 2025 continues to be guided by strategic priorities and core values that help TVA continue its mission of service to the Tennessee Valley region every day, just as we have for over 90 years. As we move through these winter months, TVA is staying focused on maintaining reliable and resilient power. And operational excellence is always a top priority for TVA. This is about providing power when it matters the most, like during the periods of higher demand we experienced in recent weeks. And we have a good track record. TVA has successfully dealt with extreme weather and met several demand records over just the past year. And as extreme temperatures came through our region a few weeks ago in January, Our system met the highest peak power demand in our history, estimated at 35,319 megawatts. And our power system remained stable through several days of extremely high demand like this. Also, everything we do, we do in partnership. And we appreciate the efforts of TVA and local power company employees who worked around the clock during these events. We also appreciate the partnership with all our communities, residents, and businesses who answered the call to conserve power. Working together, we were able to make history, and we were well prepared for these extremes. In fiscal year 24, TVA invested over $400 million to harden its system. which included thousands of winter readiness activities. These stem from lessons learned and best practices from previous winters, as well as robust inspections. TVA has one of the largest, most diverse power systems in the nation, and we work every day to provide energy security that's reliable, affordable, resilient, and sustainable American-made energy to 10 million people across seven states. Our region continues to grow, which means the demand for power is increasing. TVA's strong balance sheet will support capital expansion plans in the years ahead so we can continue to provide the energy security our communities expect and deserve. TVA plans to invest $16 billion over the next several years toward new generation, transmission, and environmental remediation. This includes construction of more than 3,500 megawatts of additional generation that includes solar, energy storage, combustion turbines, and combined cycle natural gas plants. Adding new gas fire capacity will help maintain reliability and support renewables expansion by providing flexibility to help manage intermittency. The decisions we're making today will set the stage for the next four decades of energy supply for the Tennessee Valley region. TVA is building an American-made energy future, and we're pursuing innovative solutions that continue to support energy security. Innovation is a part of TVA's DNA. We were created to solve complex challenges, and we're ready to lead. For example, we're leading a coalition of nuclear industry leaders in pursuing a U.S. Department of Energy grant to accelerate construction of the nation's first small modular reactor at our Clinch River site in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Nuclear is the most reliable and efficient energy source the world has ever known. is a building block that will power America's next-generation AI and industrial technologies so that the U.S. can dominate the global economy. But developing first-of-a-kind technologies is inherently expensive. So we were very pleased last year when Congress approved funding through the U.S. Department of Energy to help deploy the first Gen 3 plus SMRs in the United States. As mentioned, We are leading a coalition of industry partners in pursuing $800 million for the development of the BWX-300 design at the Clinch River Nuclear Site here in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. We put together a strong coalition of co-applicants. This includes the state of Tennessee and representatives of the nuclear ecosystem, including other utilities and developers who are exploring SMRs, plus suppliers, construction partners, and others. Working with partners will ensure that this funding can help pave the way for the deployment of not just the first SMR at Clinch River, but also help establish a domestic supply chain and support future deployments. The benefits from this funding would reach beyond Clinch River, as TBA and our partners will share lessons and best practices that will offset costs and reduce risks while advancing nuclear technology for the entire country. Traditional nuclear energy is already a safe and secure energy source and SMRs will continue to improve safety and security. This first-of-a-kind technology must be built in the United States. There is broad bipartisan support for this. Additionally, as we recently highlighted, TVA's draft Integrated Resource Plan outlines that new capacity will be needed in any scenario and that new nuclear technologies with continued advancements can support load growth and deeper decarbonization. As you all know, TVA began exploring options for advanced reactors in 2010 and submitted an early site permit in 2016 Clinch River was the first of its kind to receive an early site permit from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2019, and the TVA Board of Directors has approved up to $350 million to fund this development work. It's important to note that any TVA project would be subject to Board approval, and if awarded, the DOE funding wouldn't directly commit TVA to a project. TVA continues to use a structured planning phase decision-gate approach to safely and judiciously explore potential development of SMR technology. But the availability of DOA funding would help accelerate the early activities of the project and reduce risk and cost. We hope to have an update to share on the application soon. So now let me turn the call over to Tom Rice to discuss the financial results for the quarter. Tom?

Thank you, Jeff, and thank you for the opportunity to step into this role, and congratulations on your recent decision to retire. I know we will miss your steady hand at TVA, but I'm happy for you, Tracy, and your family that you'll be able to spend more time with them. And as you've reminded all of us here at TVA, you view this transition over the coming months as the passing of a baton during a relay race with both you and your eventual successor running at full speed And for those of you that know Jeff, you're well aware that he never runs at much below full speed. So I know that you and the Board are committed to a smooth and successful transition without the organization missing a beat. So thank you. Now, as we turn to the financial results, I can share that 2025 is off to a strong start. As Jeff outlined, we have submitted an application for $800 million of federal funding under the bipartisan legislation passed last summer to further the development of SMR technology. And I'm pleased to report that this fall TVA filed our first-ever return with the IRS for direct pay tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. We expect to receive over $23 million in credits for projects associated with extending the life and output of our hydro fleet, as well as other infrastructure improvements. Turning to the first quarter results, we are seeing year-over-year growth in power sales despite milder weather, with sales to local power companies and direct-served industries increasing. In particular, I'll note that the sales growth was due to increases in the data processing, hosting, and related services sector. And importantly, we saw strong operating cash flow for the quarter, largely driven by the higher revenues. So looking at our sales and revenues, you can see that overall power sales were almost 2% higher, as Jeff mentioned, resulting in total operating revenues of just over $2.9 billion, or $155 million higher than last year. despite, as you can see from the degree days, significantly milder weather, with total degree days being 18 percent below normal and actually 8 percent below prior year. And if you look further into the revenue increase, you can see base revenues 96 million higher than the same period last year, which is really driven by two things. One is the base rate increase implemented in October. as well as, secondarily, the increase in sales, particularly, as I mentioned, to the non-weather sensitive sector of data processing, hosting, and related services. The other component of operating revenues are fuel revenues are also 47 million higher, driven primarily by higher fuel rates for coal, but also by higher volumes of purchase power in the quarter. And as you are aware, we have been responsibly raising base power rates over the past two years to help ensure we maintain financial health as we make significant capital investments in the power system. And this plays out in our base rate results, which combined with the fuel rate for the quarter resulted in an average total effective rate of 7.6 cents per kWh, which is among the lowest in the nation. So, looking at power supply for the quarter, you can see that nuclear was lower due to lower availability of nuclear generation, and this was offset by higher coal and purchase power generation. And on the pie chart on the right, you can see by fuel type the energy supply mix for the quarter. In this view, purchase power is allocated to resource type, so you can see the total by source. And this speaks, again, to the importance of the diverse and balanced fleet that you've heard us speak about for many years. Turning now to the income statement, you can see that year over year, as I mentioned, revenues were higher for the quarter. Again, largely a base revenue story, but also you can see an increase in fuel revenue and a small increase in other revenues. The other side of the fuel revenue increase is that our fuel and purchase power expense for the quarter was $44 million higher than the same period last year, really driven by the same factors. Our O&M expense is slightly higher, $38 million higher year over year, largely driven by wage escalation cost. And I'll note that while we have been responsibly raising base power rates, we're also working to reduce our controllable cost, including our O&M expense. And as we outlined in the 2025 business plan, we are seeking to reduce $950 million of plan cost over the 2024 to 2026 fiscal years as part of our cost optimization effort. And these cost reductions are critical to maintaining financial health and keeping rates low for the customers. And we'll continue to update you on our progress as we move forward. And so, just to wrap up the income statement, depreciation increased 36 million, and that's largely driven by the acceleration of depreciation related to the retirement of the Kingston coal plant. And you can see increases in interest expense mainly due to higher financing obligations as we implement the capital program. And so, bottom line, net income you can see slightly below, essentially equal to last year at $125 million for the quarter. And now, just a few quick notes on the cash flow statement. You can see operating cash flow remained strong at $450 million for the quarter, which is $57 million higher than last year, mainly due to the higher revenues. Investing activities, importantly, were $376 million higher primarily driven by increased expenditures for the capacity expansion projects that you saw on the slide Jeff covered earlier, as well as some increase in nuclear fuel. And related and consequently for this group, financing cash flow is up, reflecting the increase in the funding for those capital investments. And you can see that debt increased year over year, as expected and in line with our capital plan. So, to recap, it's been a strong start to 2025. We continue to stay focused on maintaining financial discipline as we make the significant investments for the future consistent with our plan. We are seeing sales growth, and our customers continue to benefit from our balanced, diverse, and reliable power system that continues to be supported by strong cash flow. And with that, I will turn the call over to Gary to start the Q&A session.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we will begin today's question and answer session. TVA would like to provide the financial community with the first opportunity to ask questions. To ask a question, you may press star then 1 on your telephone keypad. If you're using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. To withdraw your question, please press star then 2. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. The first question comes from Carrie Sanlouis with Fidelity. Please go ahead.

Hi. Good morning.

Good morning, Carrie.

Jeff, congratulations on your retirement. Well deserved. But to that point, can you just remind me how your replacement, the selection goes? Is that a board-driven process? Are there internal plans? I'm just a little bit, I don't remember how that exactly works.

Yeah, Kara, this does not look significantly different than any corporate CO succession process. It's for the board to consider what the characteristics of the next CO need to be, to consider the internal succession plan and candidates that we've developed internally and And they'll consider external candidates, I believe, as well, or at least think through that process. And it will be to the board to make that decision.

And are you hoping to have some, like, overlap with the CEO?

Yeah, what the board and I have discussed is making sure that this is a very bumpless transfer. So part of the reason for me putting my intent to retire out there with some space is to allow room for the decision to be made, the successor to be seated, and a turnover with he or she that makes sure the operation continues to run extremely well. That's the objective here.

Okay, great. And then a couple other questions. Could you just remind me how the board composition is right now? Like, are you fully... I think it's nine members, if I remember correctly, is your full board. But is that, do you have any expirations or vacancies or just how that's set to progress this year?

Right. So we, in 24, we had one vacancy. And with the end of the congressional session, Beth Harwell and Brian Nolan's terms concluded. So there are currently three vacant seats on a nine-person board. here at TVA. There is one additional term, Director Rich, that expires in May. But as you remember, he could serve through the end of 25. And so we have three vacant seats that will need to be filled and a fourth one that will need to be filled sometime by the end of this year or early next.

Great. And just with the change in the administration, has everything at TVA kind of been business as usual?

Yeah, I think, you know, we certainly have kept a close eye on the executive orders that the president and the administration have issued and been responsive to those. So that's been a point of engagement with the administration to make sure we understand where they want to go and that we're meeting those expectations. You know, of course, we're keenly in tune with energy policy and where the administration is going, and we'll be responsive to that as well. But, you know, TVA's always had an approach to the energy system that's diverse, renewables, hydro, gas, optimizing what's left of our coal fleet and nuclear, as well as significant energy efficiency and demand response programs. So we think that portfolio... fits pretty well with where this administration is likely to want to see the nation go. And we'll make sure we're working closely with them so that we can keep things aligned.

Perfect. And then on the nuclear, that's the last line of questioning. So congratulations on moving forward with that $800 million request for funding. Can you just remind me, like, the timing on that? And then, you know, I think you started to select, like, an EPC. I don't know if that's too broad of a term, but I saw that announcement for, like, a joint consortium. So, like, what are the kind of next couple key dates to kind of have in mind to know, like, how things are progressing with progress on the SMR?

Right. So, we're... In terms of milestone, we're working under our technical collaboration agreement with Ontario Power, Cynthos, and Giattacci, completing the BWRX 300 standard design. We expect that work to finish here in 2025, and we're also in the final stages of compiling the construction permit application, the license application, if you will, which we expect to submit here in 25 as well to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to get their review underway for that construction permit to support commencement of construction. Those are two significant milestones for you to look for in 2025. We also selected – our execution model is is a bit different than historically has been used. It's an integrated project delivery model. So we picked those team members, Bechtel as the constructor, Sargent Lundy as the engineer, GE Hitachi for the nuclear steam supply system. And we're now entering what we call the validation phase, where we're taking that design and planning its implementation and looking at costs, schedule, risk, uncertainty, so that here over the next 12 to 24 months, we'll have that team aligned around that cost, schedule, and risk to a very detailed level. And in an IPD model, Integrated Project Delivery model, then the success of all the parties is tied to the success of the project. And to do that, you really have to have a very clear view on this cost, schedule, and risk. So that's another big activity this year. And then of course the application.

I haven't heard of other utilities in the US using this kind of joint integrated project delivery model. What is it modeled after? Like, are there other utilities in the U.S. that have used it? Or is it, it seems like OPG's used it, so did you model it after them? But I'm just curious, like, maybe you could point to some others that have been successfully using that.

Yeah, OPG used this for their Darlington, their $14 billion Darlington refurbishment program and is using it for their BWRX 300 construction. I don't believe it's been used in the nuclear industry in the U.S., but it is a model that has been used around the world and in the U.S. for other megaprojects. You know, projects of this nature that are long-duration and complicated, this is a good model for. If you were an nth of a kind, you would likely use a more traditional EPC model. So lots of experience with this, experience developing now with OPG in the nuclear space. And, but I think it's the right model for first of a kind. That's where we settled.

Perfect. And so then when you get this, you submit your license application in 2025, that's probably what, a two-year kind of turnaround?

Yeah, I think the NRC's feedback was two to three years. We're optimistic about this. There's really no you know, there are 50 years worth of boiling water operating experience. And so we think from a licensing point of view that the NRC will work through this quite efficiently. And I think they're committed to that. So nominally we're planning on a two-year review in our schedule.

Okay. And then that, the 800, or sorry, the $350 million that your board's approved, does that take you through, like, getting that license approved? application decision back and then that's when you make a decision on COD or not. Is that the right thinking or could you just explain that to me?

Yeah. What the board's approved gets us through develop the standard design, development of the license application, funding the NRC review and our project team as well as the schedule and cost development and validation work that we talked about and some minimal on-site work The DOE funding, the DOI application, we think is a big step because it brings other utilities, Tier 1 nuclear utilities, in to this process so we can all benefit from that. It goes to the supply chain, BWXT, Scott Forge, and others. And the DOE funding would help us accelerate the project by supporting us getting to the site to do more extensive site prep, ordering long lead time components and the like that would support the current schedule and actually move it forward a bit.

Okay. And you'll know on that maybe this year, or you don't know?

Hard to say. You know, we'd like to see this decision made, and hopefully our consortium awarded this sometime this summer, but I really can't speak for DOE or the administration's approach on that. Okay.

All right, great. Thank you so much for your help today.

You bet, Carrie. Thank you.

Good luck. Bye-bye.

The next question is from Daniel Dassau with Knoxville News Sentinel. Please go ahead.

Yes. Hi, Jeff. Congratulations on your retirement announcement, and thank you for making yourself so available for interviews and questions over the last six years. I have a few questions related to executive orders and memos. One is about the return to office memo. I have sort of a two-part question here, which is what will it take for TVA to bring everyone back to the office each day? But also, in a recent memo from the Office of Personnel Management, It directed federal agencies not to comply with any clauses in collective bargaining agreements that ensure telework agreements. I'm wondering if TVA has any collective bargaining agreements that ensure telework or remote work and how this return to office could affect TVA's relationship to its union partners.

As you know, we put a really high value on our partnerships with the 17 unions that we engage with. And I can tell you, I think we have the most productive relationships with our unions in the industry. And I've got some experience base to make that statement. And so, we work together extremely well. TVA had 70% of our workforce is on station, either in the field or at a power plant. Really, it's less than 30% of our workforce that has the option to operate in a hybrid environment. And we've always had the expectation, even as we work with those hybrid workers, that they spend time in office. And we've allowed that call to be from the supervisor and management team. And so we had recently, as you know, begun looking at our costs and moving toward some reduction in the workforce. as a result of that. And as part of that, we've been considering what changes to expectations now we want to set with respect to in-office attendance. And so this executive order really moves in parallel with what we had in process anyway. To your specific question, though, we don't have any clauses in contracts that prevent us in any way from setting workplace attendance expectations. We did have a couple of memorandums of understanding with a couple of our unions about notice to change workplace attendance policy, but it's not a restriction on us. It's just a reasonable notice so that people can plan their lives, and we won't have any trouble complying with that. We've already given that notice.

Great. And another question I had relates to the DEI order. I know TVA has no plans to continue the diversity reports that the Biden administration mandated. My question in particular is about what appeared to have been a changing of roles last year that really removed some of those key words, diversity and inclusion, from some titles. So Jan Brown, who's now VP of People and Culture, was Chief Diversity Officer Angela Sims, who was Director of Diversity and Inclusion, left the organization last June. So was there a concerted effort to reframe some of the diversity titles at TVA, perhaps in preparation for this kind of an order?

Yeah, not in preparation for this kind of order. So the short answer to your question is no. But TVA has always been a merit-based organization. So we look to hire and promote the best and brightest. That's always been the case. That's still the case. We implemented an inclusion initiative a number of years ago to try to build the culture where we could leverage the talents of our whole workforce more effectively and be more inclusive about getting people's full contribution. It was very effective for us. It moved the culture. And we made some effort to make sure that the pool of candidates that we were drawing on was diverse, because we need the best and brightest, and diversity helps with respect to that. But we never had a set of programs that we thought was anything other than merit-based. We made progress at that, and by the time we got to the middle of last year, we started looking at our HR organization and felt like it was time where we could evolve. And we didn't need that focus in that way anymore. And so we made those changes. And we're continuing today. And we're taking on board the orders from the administration. But really, we think we're pretty well positioned at the outset here. But what's driving that is just our view of what we needed to do with talent and culture and the evolution of that.

Mm-hmm. Okay, thank you. And then I just had a few last questions actually related to the operation of the nuclear fleet. In addition to Sequoia 2, WattSpar 1 has been listed by the NRCS completely offline since mid-January. I'm wondering if you could give us an update on what's going on with WattSpar 1 and when you expect that reactor could be back up and running.

Yeah, and Daniel, we never put out when we think units will come back into service just because of the market and some other considerations. So I won't answer that part of your question directly, but I will tell you the Watts Bar Unit had an issue with its main generator, and that issue has been diagnosed. The repair plan's in place. That works underway, and it's going quite well. So we expect a return to service in the in the near future here of Watts Bar. And we think we understand what happened there very well, so we'll take a look at extended condition and decide whether that applies to any of our other units or not and take the appropriate actions there.

And then my final question is about the low enriched uranium feedstock for the reactors at Watts Bar specifically. the LEU that's used to produce tritium in partnership with the NNSA. The NNSA is now working to find a new domestic source of that uranium, an obligated source that can be used to produce tritium, and that partnership is being led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory through the centrifuge experiment. I'm wondering if TVA has any role in that centrifuge experiment in the DEUCE program. to restore a new source of domestic uranium enrichment for defense?

No, we don't, Daniel. I mean, TVA buys uranium. We buy enrichment and services and conversion services. We buy all those domestically, so we don't rely internationally on the market for any conversion or enrichment. And we... So we have a pretty deliberate process here. We also produce tritium, as you point out, and we're continuing to do that. But the other issues around HALU and LEU domestically, those are really not TVA's focus.

Okay, thank you so much.

Again, if you have a question, please press star, then 1. The next question comes from David Floyd with the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Please go ahead.

Hey, Jeff. I was wanting to follow up on that question regarding in-person work. Is TVA intending to maintain some hybrid options, or is the agency going to be shifting to fully in-person work going forward?

Yeah, we're still looking at this. I mean, we are expecting a full return to the office. for the workforce. You can appreciate that our workforce moves around quite a bit. We move out to facilities. We move to power plants. And so it's fluid to start with. But no, we expect a full return to the office with the right exceptions or the right flexibility to reflect the nature of our business. And that's allowed by the executive order, by the way. The executive order contemplates that While your expectation is a full return to work, there may be instances where there's the nature of your business or justifies some exceptions, and we'll just look carefully at those.

Okay. What does that mean for the downtown office complex in Chattanooga?

Yeah. We expect to maintain a downtown office presence for the foreseeable future. Although, frankly, we've made it clear we have more office space there than we need. We've been working on a number of fronts. An example is with the potential federal courthouse and with the city on redevelopment of some of that property. But a significant part of that will remain as our Chattanooga office complex for the foreseeable future.

Okay. Could there be more employees at that office complex? Yes.

Well, we are in the process right now of a review of our staffing levels and our organization to try to drive some cost out. You know, we announced a voluntary reduction in force. We expect all that to play out over the next three or four months, and then that combined with this return to the office will inform what sort of facilities, in terms of square foot in nature, we need. I'll just delay the answer to that question a bit. I would expect more people in the office complex in Chattanooga, but exactly how many we'll sort out as we finish up these other in-house efforts.

Okay. And I also want to ask about something that Congressman Fleischman had recently said. He had mentioned that, you know, the region is growing fast, and so that means there's been an increase in power demand. And apparently TVA has had to tell some prospective employers that it can't guarantee meeting future needs if they're looking at expanding into the region. And I wanted to see if that was the case, and if so, kind of what those challenges might be.

Yeah, no, we don't tell customers no. The answer from us is always yes. If a business wants to relocate here or expand, the answer is going to be yes. There are two follow-ups. It's when and under what condition, right? And so, for example... Some businesses that can locate here and enter also into our demand response programs where they can reduce their load on days like we just saw a couple weeks ago where we're setting record peaks. We can serve them sooner. Ones that may need 24-7 at some significant number, we may have to build assets, transmission or generation, and we try to work with them to make sure we meet their needs while we're maintaining the reliability and resiliency of the system. And we've been very successful. 24 was a banner economic development year for us. We landed big loads like aluminum dynamics, like the XAI data center in Memphis, the first solar facility in Lawrence, Alabama. I could go on. And so we're continuing to see growth at multiples of the national average, and TVA is going to be here to support that. And we'll do it in partnership with the customers, and I think customers recognize that.

So you guys haven't had to tell an employer we can't accommodate that draw on the grid?

No. Maybe you have an example we'll follow up with you on if you'd like to explore it. Okay. We work with our customers and try to make sure we're meeting the needs. And like I said, it's often time frame is always a debate. There's always an issue. When can when do they want to be in operation and when can we serve it is often a focus, but we do our best and we think we've been successful. Okay.

And the last thing I had was just during this recent peak that we saw, what was kind of like the, I mean, what was kind of like the mix of energy sources TDA was drawing on to meet that peak and also like what proportion was bought versus generated?

Yeah, we'll follow up with you on the specifics and go over that. You know, that peak was served primarily by our own in-house generation, the nuclear plants being the lion's share, but also our hydro, our coal, and our gas. Not much renewable is available to us on the peak, some during the day to recharge storage. And we did purchase some power. None of it in the spot market. It was all firm power day ahead, week ahead, because we forecast this. And I would add that we always had at least about 3,500 megawatts a generation in reserve available in case we had a unit issue or we underestimated the peak. But we can follow up, if you're interested, with the specifics of that.

Okay. And I actually did have one more thing. I know that the president did rescind a bunch of executive orders that Biden had put into place, I think regarding reporting on climate change. And so I was wondering if that's affected anything that TVA has been intending to report in terms of emissions, et cetera, just regarding climate change.

I think we're still working through that. Our focus was on the new executive orders to make sure we were responsive. And we'll sort through the ones that were rescinded and decide what impact it has. But I'm really not in a position to characterize that for you right now.

Okay. Well, thank you. Appreciate it. This concludes our question and answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Jeff Lyash for any closing remarks.

Okay. Well, thank you all for your time today. We're proud of the strong performance that we have year to date, as Tom outlined. And our priority and our focus for this year is to continue to provide energy security. What that means for us is reliable, affordable, resilient, and clean power for this growing region. Thank you again for your ongoing support of TVA as we build this American-made energy future right here in the Tennessee Valley. Have a good day.

The conference is now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.