Knoxville, Tenn.

IN two weeks the Tennessee Valley Authority, America’s largest public power producer, will decide whether to complete construction of a long-deferred generating unit at the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant, in northeast Alabama. If we proceed, Bellefonte 1 would become the T.V.A.’s third nuclear unit brought into service in the 21st century.

This is, understandably, a controversial issue. Why are we thinking of expanding our fleet of nuclear plants in the wake of the Fukushima disaster? After all, some countries seem to be going the other way: Germany and others are planning to cut back or eliminate their nuclear power facilities altogether.

Indeed, whether the Bellefonte project moves forward or not, the T.V.A. is committed to demonstrating that a methodical, safety-driven approach to nuclear development works. Along with the possibility of restarting work at Bellefonte, in recent years we have upgraded our Browns Ferry 1 reactor, also in Alabama, and we are completing a second reactor at our Watts Bar plant, in eastern Tennessee.

The reason for the commitment is simple: for all the recent news, nuclear is still our best choice for producing large amounts of round-the-clock, reliable electricity that is affordable, safe and clean.