CEO Column

Long-time readers know I grew up in Corinth, Mississippi, in Alcorn County, in the red clay hills of northeast Mississippi. It was and is Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) country, about 20 miles from Pickwick Dam, one of TVA’s large series of dams on the Tennessee River. With that location, Alcorn County Electric Power Association (known to all of us as “ACE”) was created by the Roosevelt Administration in 1934 as the first electric cooperative and a test case for the rural electric cooperative model which would become known as the Rural Electric Administration or, to most everyone, the REA. Because ACE was headquartered in Corinth, it was often called “The Corinth Experiment.”

The history and legacy of the Alabama Black Belt have always been mysterious. At the start of the Civil War, it was the wealthiest area in the country. Now it is the poorest. There are too many ghosts across the Black Belt. They still cast long shadows that can’t be escaped.

This month I offer a paper prepared by Jesse Ausubel for the American Electric Power Board in 2019. Jesse is the Director of the Program for the Human Environment at Rockefeller University in New York City. Jesse and I have been friends since we served together on the EPRI Board in the early 2000s. You are not the smartest person in any room he is in. I have revised Jesse’s paper to fit the space.  

Through the years, I have written articles centered on climate change and different people’s beliefs and demands around climate change. Many readers say they appreciate my articles, because I address the extreme beliefs of climate change advocates. However, my articles infuriate some readers. I receive negative responses that most often call me names, criticize my ignorance of science, and demand that Alabama Living stop printing my articles. Just last month, one cowardly, anonymous reader sent me a copy of my November article with handwritten notes reading: “This is Bull—-” and “Your opinions have no place here.” In short, some of my readers advocate a “cancel culture” that prohibits people who don’t share their values or beliefs from expressing their own opinions.

Charles Dickens’ classic and wonderful book, A Christmas Carol, is probably the first appearance of the Ghost of Christmas Past. Although A Christmas Carol is mostly a dark and gloomy novel, with Ebenezer Scrooge humbugging Christmas and everyone who celebrates it, there are light, happy elements at the ending, but also, to a lesser degree, with the Ghost of Christmas past.

 A few weeks ago, New York City hosted “Climate Week NYC: 2025,” touted as its “Biggest Yet.” The theme was “Power On,” and it addressed climate progress across clean energy, climate finance, green jobs, technology and climate justice – demonstrating solutions already taking shape. Speeches, conversations, and calls for more action continued through the week.

Last year I wrote a couple of times about climate nonsense. Since then, a lot of things have changed. To quote former President Barack Obama, “Elections have consequences.” With Donald Trump’s presidential re-election, the approach on many environmental issues has drastically changed, and the omnipresent focus on all things climate change has waned. However, that doesn’t mean climate nonsense has disappeared.

Last September I wrote an article titled “The Dog Days of Summer” about our summers growing up in the 1960’s in north Mississippi. We made up games, ran the neighborhood, dug holes to China, rode bikes, and went to the “Y” and played baseball. We were free — until Labor Day. We never started back to school until the Tuesday after Labor Day. My grandkids now start back the first week in August. Our summers seemed endless — theirs seem too short.

We had a large crowd at the beach for the Fourth of July. My oldest daughter, Ashley, her husband Scott, and their kids, Gates, Collins, and Smith and friends were at the house.

Last month I wrote about the April 28 electrical blackout that affected most of Spain and Portugal. The primary theme of that article was that PowerSouth emphasizes electric reliability more than some states, regions, or countries. This month, I will discuss more about what happened with the Iberian blackout — and why it will happen again. But, first, I need to bore you for a few minutes.