
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Electricity rates for Tennessee Valley Authority customers in seven states will not be increased in the coming fiscal year.
TVA's board of directors voted Thursday to approve an $11.2 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year that begins Oct 1 and does not include any rate hikes.
The federal utility provides electricity to 9 million people in Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.
TVA chief executive officer Tom Kilgore also announced at the meeting that he will be retiring.
TVA's board of directors appointed Kilgore as CEO in 2006. Kilgore, who said he was in the fourth quarter of life and wanted to pursue other things, said he preferred to leave in four to six months but would wait until the board appoints his successor.
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander released the following statement on Kilgore's retirement:
"Tom Kilgore is an experienced utility executive who has led TVA through challenging times. Now the TVA board's job is to find a strong manager for its nuclear plants and clean-air objectives, a manager who can ensure that TVA will continue to provide reliable electricity at a cost low enough to help create jobs in the Tennessee Valley."
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