drrxnupe
Well-Known Member
Growing more and more frustrated because I can't fish due to generation, I decided to email TVA to get a better understanding of how they decide when and when not to generate. Below is our conversation from back in early December when there was a lot of day time generation.
Me:
It seems as though most of the heavy generation on trout tailwaters occurs during daylight hours when most people would attempt to fish. It seems to me that the trout stocking program is a wasted investment if citizens don't have the opportunity to
actually fish. Is there any particular reason why heavy day-time
generation is taking place?
TVA:
Thank you for your inquiry. In your email you did not name the
reservoir/tailwater - Could you please tell me which reservoir? Thank you.
Me:
Thanks for your prompt reply. The reservoirs/tailwaters I'm specifically referring to are Center Hill, Tims Ford, and J Percy Priest. Center Hill (Caney Fork river) and Tims Ford (Elk river), in particular, are sights where people have been known to travel from across state lines just to fish our fine Tennessee waters. On many occasions, I have personally received calls from colleagues and fisherman from all over the US asking about fishing conditions at both tailwater locations. Over the last few months, the conditions on the tailwaters haven't allowed the opportunity to fish at all. I'm sure that this compromises revenue from tourism and the purchasing of fishing licenses for the state. I certainly understand that acts of nature can dictate the need to release water. My question is whether the generation/release could occur during night hours in order to allow people to fish and use these precious resources during the day?
TVA:
We appreciate your concern. While Tims Ford is TVA-managed, Center Hill and J Percy Priest are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; however, they follow the same rule of thumb that TVA does. While we understand the difficulty this may cause for people who wade to fish, we run the units during the hours that have the highest demand for electricity. There is generally not much demand in the middle of the night. If we cannot supply the electricity that is needed on the hours when demand is highest, we have to find other means to supply our customers with power. This would mean generating with more costly sources like combustion turbines or purchasing electricity from another supplier. If we purchase during hours when the demand is high, the cost to our customers is likely to be high as well.
Me:
It seems as though most of the heavy generation on trout tailwaters occurs during daylight hours when most people would attempt to fish. It seems to me that the trout stocking program is a wasted investment if citizens don't have the opportunity to
actually fish. Is there any particular reason why heavy day-time
generation is taking place?
TVA:
Thank you for your inquiry. In your email you did not name the
reservoir/tailwater - Could you please tell me which reservoir? Thank you.
Me:
Thanks for your prompt reply. The reservoirs/tailwaters I'm specifically referring to are Center Hill, Tims Ford, and J Percy Priest. Center Hill (Caney Fork river) and Tims Ford (Elk river), in particular, are sights where people have been known to travel from across state lines just to fish our fine Tennessee waters. On many occasions, I have personally received calls from colleagues and fisherman from all over the US asking about fishing conditions at both tailwater locations. Over the last few months, the conditions on the tailwaters haven't allowed the opportunity to fish at all. I'm sure that this compromises revenue from tourism and the purchasing of fishing licenses for the state. I certainly understand that acts of nature can dictate the need to release water. My question is whether the generation/release could occur during night hours in order to allow people to fish and use these precious resources during the day?
TVA:
We appreciate your concern. While Tims Ford is TVA-managed, Center Hill and J Percy Priest are managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; however, they follow the same rule of thumb that TVA does. While we understand the difficulty this may cause for people who wade to fish, we run the units during the hours that have the highest demand for electricity. There is generally not much demand in the middle of the night. If we cannot supply the electricity that is needed on the hours when demand is highest, we have to find other means to supply our customers with power. This would mean generating with more costly sources like combustion turbines or purchasing electricity from another supplier. If we purchase during hours when the demand is high, the cost to our customers is likely to be high as well.
