Ex-TVA Director Hayes now lobbying for Southern

Ex-TVA Director Hayes
now lobbying for Southern

BY ANDY SHER
WASHINGTON BUREAU

WASHINGTON — After lobbying on behalf of Enron Corp. last year, former Tennessee Valley Authority director Johnny Hayes is now working for another electricity producer whose interests have sometimes collided with TVA's.

Federal lobby disclosure filings show Mr. Hayes began working for Southern Co. Services Inc. last October. He reported in mid-February that the utility giant paid him $20,000 in lobbying fees during the final quarter of 2001.

Mr. Hayes' disclosure states that he is working on "wholesale electric business development" and "economic development." The disclosure lists TVA as a federal agency Mr. Hayes had contacted.

Efforts to reach Mr. Hayes on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Stephen Smith, executive director of the Clean Energy Coalition, an environmental group, said he is surprised that Mr. Hayes was now lobbying for

She noted that Mr. Hayes is also a former state Economic and Community Development commissioner "and in that capacity, he built many good relationships throughout the Southeast."

Mr. Hayes, a friend of former Vice President Al Gore, was named to TVA's governing board by the Clinton-Gore administration in 1993. He served until early 1999 when he left to become fundraising director for Mr. Gore's unsuccessful 2000 presidential campaign.

Mr. Hayes registered in 2001 as a lobbyist for several companies including Enron, the now-controversial energy giant that is the subject of multiple investigations into its questionable business practices.

Enron paid Mr. Hayes $200,000 in the first half of 2001 to lobby. Mr. Hayes' year-end disclosure for 2001, filed Feb. 14, show Enron paid him an additional $120,000, bringing his total to $320,000.

Asked about Mr. Hayes' current work for Southern, TVA spokesman Gil Francis said Mr. Hayes is "a private citizen and certainly has the right to work for any company he wishes."

Mr. Francis said a 12-month prohibition on work former TVA directors can enter into once leaving the agency has long expired. Mr. Francis said he knows of no one Mr. Hayes has contacted at TVA in his role as a Southern Co. lobbyist.

Mr. Hayes has been in contact with TVA on behalf of other clients including Enron, TVA officials said earlier this year.

Mr. Smith said the description of Mr. Hayes' duties listed on his lobby form for Southern "probably means trying to figure out a relationship with the big industrial suppliers" that are among TVA's customers.

"What does Southern Co. want?" Mr. Smith asked. "They want TVA's big industrial customers."

" That's amazing," said Mr. Smith, a longtime TVA observer. He said Enron and Southern have been among utilities or power producers "most hostile" to TVA.

"If you were looking for the two entities that have given TVA the most grief, Enron over the last decade and Southern over the last six decades, you've found them," Mr. Smith said.

Erik Cole, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, a government watchdog group, said that when it comes to "a quasi-governmental entity like TVA, it's worrisome that companies are able to bring in the highest paid guns that they can to develop policy."

Southern Co., which owns Georgia Power and Alabama Power, has sued TVA in the past, charging that the federal utility sold power outside its congressionally mandated service area. At least one of suits was filed when Mr. Hayes was a board member.

Southern Co. also used to participate in TVA Watch, a consortium of investor-owned utilities that has criticized and lobbied against TVA on several issues in Washington.

However, Southern has also aligned itself with TVA in some areas, including federal efforts to crack down on air pollution emitted by the two utilities' coal-fired power plants.

Southern spokeswoman Tiffany Gilstrap said Mr. Hayes is a "consultant" for the company. "He's lobbying for Southern Co. on certain energy-related issues," she said. "He was hired as a consultant for business development and business relationship purposes. Johnny has talked with a number of potential wholesale customers including TVA and will continue to do so when the needs arise."