Biden picks Alabama attorney for TVA board

The U.S. Senate has confirmed six long-waiting nominees by President Joe Biden to the board of the nation's largest public utility. The vote sets up a new majority with Biden's picks. The nine-member board had been whittled down to five people appointed by former President Donald Trump. Two members had still been serving even though their terms had expired. The list of confirmed TVA board members includes Huntsville attorney Joe Ritch. He had served on the panel previously in 2013. Environmental groups had been calling for urgency. Without the confirmations, the board would have soon lacked enough members to conduct business. Advocates also have been urging the nominees to move TVA away from carbon-producing electricity more quickly in a push to curb climate change. The vote came just a few days before Congress adjourns for the year. The new TVA directors to be sworn into office in January. That will restore TVA's board to its full nine-member size and bring representatives from each of the major states served by the utility.