Tennessee Rate Payers Are Corker-Screwed

Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker says that TVA and not the federal government must pay for the December 22 coal ash spill, which means that they will pass on the costs to rate payers like those of us who consume electricity here in Nashville.  There seems to be little disputing the fact that both the federal and state governments failed to regulate TVA properly or the argument that they should share some of the accountability for the disaster.  So, why shouldn't both the federal and the state governments help pay for TVA's failures? Why is Bob Corker so invested in making his utility-paying constituents foot the bill for the clean-up?

UPDATE:  Times Free Press has the math on the costs to us rate payers:

Every $100 million of extra expenses for TVA will cost electric ratepayers an extra 1 percent in higher power bills. In the past year, TVA electric rates already have jumped by more than 25 percent — even after a 6 percent fuel cost reduction last week — primarily because of higher coal and natural gas prices.