Former TVA director John Hayes signs as energy lobbyist

Former TVA director John Hayes signs as
energy lobbyist

May 20, 2001
By Richard Powelson, News-Sentinel Washington bureau

Johnny H. Hayes, a former top official at the Tennessee Valley Authority, has been hired as a federal lobbyist for Enron, an energy company that someday may compete with TVA.

Hayes quit TVA's three-member policy-setting board of directors in January 1999 to become the top fund-raiser for Al Gore's presidential campaign.

Public records of Congress show that Hayes, who is from Gallatin, Tenn., registered this month to lobby the federal government for Enron, one of the nation's largest energy companies. Enron reported $101 billion in revenues last year compared to $6.7 billion for TVA, a federal corporation based in Knoxville.

Hayes, who registered his employment under the company name of Sideview Partners Inc., did not return a call for comment.

Enron spokesman Eric Thode declined to say how much Hayes is being paid. Congressional records show that Enron paid another lobbyist $415,000 last year.

Hayes' salary at TVA when he left was $118,400 annually.

Stephen Smith, an environmental activist with the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in Knoxville, who often monitors TVA issues, said he is concerned about a TVA insider joining ranks with a huge for-profit power company like Enron.

"As a board member for TVA, one knows where a lot of the skeletons are throughout the agency," Smith said. "What is always a concern is when you step out away from the organization, do you potentially now profit from that and turn it against consumers in the Valley? I'm not necessarily saying that Johnny Hayes is doing that, but I think that is where we would be concerned."

TVA spokesman Gil Francis said Hayes returned a call to him Friday and briefly discussed his recent dealings with TVA.

"To my knowledge Hayes has not talked to the board, but he has talked to TVA employees about energy matters this year," Francis said. "He talked to people in power supply in Chattanooga. I don't know specifically who he's talked to. Even if he is representing a private utility on stuff like that, that is confidential conversations. You know as much as I know."

TVA board members Glenn McCullough Jr. and Skila Harris were in meetings and could not be contacted Friday, their aides said.

Enron's Thode said Hayes was hired to lobby on "energy issues, TVA-related, kind of a host of issues that would affect that area and be related to energy."

The lobbying "may include TVA, but it would be a variety of things" and could involve other federal agencies, he said, adding that "There's nothing imminent" with TVA, and "We're looking at things, projects, all over the nation at all times."

Part of Hayes' work for Enron was reported Friday in The Wall Street Journal. The article said that Hayes knows a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Linda Breathitt of Kentucky, from Democratic politics, and invited her to dinner at a Washington, D.C., restaurant with him and Enron's director of government affairs, Richard Shapiro.

Enron is trying to get the commission to restructure the electricity industry so that utilities no longer control transmission lines and the lines would be open to all, including power companies like Enron.

TVA controls transmission on its lines in parts of seven states, including most of Tennessee.

Last year TVA and Enron had a dispute, which was later settled, about transmission of Enron-owned power. Also, TVA earlier had a contract with Enron to provide a fixed amount of extra power during peaking periods and did not honor the contract. TVA sued and was paid an undisclosed amount. A publication named Energy Intelligence Group said the settlement was for more than $200 million. Francis said the amount is confidential and TVA will not disclose it.

Hayes also registered this month as a federal lobbyist for two other companies: Choctaw Gas Generation, a subsidiary of Tractebel Power Inc. of Houston, and Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation Inc., which is based in York, Pa., and has an office in Chattanooga.

Francis said that TVA has done business with both firms.

Tractebel built a lignite coal-fired power plant in Choctaw County, Miss., for TVA. Voith Siemens has upgraded TVA hydroelectric power facilities, he said. Officials at both companies were unable to be contacted about their plans for Hayes' lobbying work.

Richard Powelson may be reached at 202-408-2727 or powelsonr@shns.com.