TVA's first nuclear reactor, Browns Ferry Unit 1, began operation in 1974. In the early 1970s, TVA set out to construct a total of 17 nuclear reactors, due to a projection of further increase in power demand. However, in the 1980s ten of these reactors were cancelled. On August 6, 1981 the Tennessee Valley Authority Board voted to defer the Phipps Bend plant, as well as to slow down construction on all other projects. The Hartsville and Yellow Creek plants were cancelled in 1984 and Bellefonte in 1988.