TENNESSEE VALLEY

AUTHORITY
HOLLY KELLEGHAN AND JING HUANG

WHAT IS TVA?
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY: ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
SIGNED BY ROOSEVELT ON MAY 18,1933, TVA ACT
FEDERAL CORPORATION
MEANT TO HELP AMERICA RECOVER FROM THE DEPRESSION
MEANT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS IN THE VALLEY, FLOODING, PRIORITY WAS
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT FOR AN AREA- FLOOD CONTROL REFORESTATION
FLOOD CONTROL TENNESSEE RIVER, GET AROUND BETTER
PROVIDING ELECTRICITY TO PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES
REPLANTING FORESTS
TVA SERVES ABOUT 80,000 SQUARE MILES IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED
STATES
THE AREA IS MOST OF TENNESSEE AND PARTS OF SIX OTHER STATES
ALABAMA, MISSISSIPPI, KENTUCKY, VIRGINIA, NORTH CAROLINA, AND GEORGIA

CONTINUE
ELECTRIC LIGHTS AND MODERN APPLIANCES MADE LIFE EASIER AND FARMS MORE
PRODUCTIVE.
ELECTRICITY ALSO DREW INDUSTRIES TO THE REGION, PROVIDING DESPERATELY NEEDED JOBS
TVA IS THE BIGGEST PUBLIC POWER COMPANY IN THE U.S
RUNS THE NATIONS FIFTH-LARGEST RIVER SYSTEM, TO CONTROL FLOODING, MAKE RIVERS
EASIER TO TRAVEL, PROVIDE RECREATION, AND PROTECT WATER QUALITY
TVAS FACILITIES FOR MAKING ELECTRIC POWER INCLUDE 29 HYDROELECTRIC DAMS, A
PUMPED-STORAGE PLANT, 11 COAL-FIRED PLANTS, 3 NUCLEAR PLANTS, AND 4 COMBUSTIONTURBINE INSTALLATIONS. THESE FACILITIES PROVIDE OVER 27,000 MEGAWATTS OF
DEPENDABLE GENERATING CAPACITY.
TVA USUALLY MAKES MORE THAN 130 BILLION KILOWATT-HOURS OF ELECTRICITY A YEAR, IT IS
THE LARGEST ELECTRIC POWER PRODUCER IN THE US.

1930S
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT SIGNS THE TVA ACT ON MAY 18, 1933.
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT CREATED HIS IDEA OF THE NEW DEAL TO HELP
AMERICANS RECOVER FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION. THE TENNESSEE
VALLEY AUTHORITY WAS FOUNDED TO HELP THE HARD-HIT TENNESSEE
VALLEY, WHERE IT WAS TASKED WITH IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF LIFE IN
THE REGION.

1940S
DURING WORLD WAR II, THE UNITED STATES NEEDED POWER FOR ESSENTIAL
WAR INDUSTRIESTO BUILD BOMBS AND AIRPLANES FOR EXAMPLEAND
THE GOVERNMENT TURNED TO TVA TO HELP SUPPLY THIS ELECTRICITY.

1950S
BY THE END OF THE WAR, TVA HAD COMPLETED A 652-MILE NAVIGATION
CHANNEL THE LENGTH OF THE TENNESSEE RIVER, AND HAD BECOME THE
NATIONS LARGEST ELECTRICITY SUPPLIER.
AFFORDABLE ELECTRICITY, THE DEPENDABLE YEAR-ROUND NAVIGATION
CHANNEL, FLOOD-FREE BUILDING SITES AND A CHEAP AND ABUNDANT
LABOR FORCE LED TO INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN THE REGION THROUGHOUT
THE 1950S.
IN 1959, CONGRESS PASSED LEGISLATION MAKING THE TENNESSEE VALLEY
AUTHORITY POWER SYSTEM SELF-FINANCING.

1960S
MANY OTHER TVA PROGRAMS DEVOTED TO RECREATION, TRIBUTARY AREA
DEVELOPMENT, AND FISH AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT GAINED
RECOGNITION AND IMPORTANCE.
IN 1966 IN NORTH ALABAMA, TVA UNDERTOOK CONSTRUCTION OF BROWNS
FERRY, ITS FIRST NUCLEAR POWER PLANT.

1970S-1980S
TVA BEGAN IMPROVING EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY WHILE CUTTING
COSTS. BY THE LATE 1980S, THERE WAS A SHIFT WITHIN TVA TOWARD A
LEANER, MORE CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT.
ENERGY CONSERVATION BECAME AN ECONOMIC NECESSITY FOR
HOMEOWNERS AND BUSINESSES ALIKE, AND TVA BECAME A NATIONAL
LEADER IN PROMOTING ENERGY CONSERVATION.
TELLICO DAM WAS FINISHED IN 1979, PROVIDING MANY RECREATION
OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE VALLEY AND BOOSTING THE
ECONOMY OF THE REGION.

1990S
TVA CONTINUED TO PROVIDE ITS CORE PRODUCTWHOLESALE ELECTRIC
POWERCOMPETITIVELY, EFFICIENTLY AND RELIABLY.
IN 1996, TVA BEGAN COMMERCIAL OPERATION OF WATTS BAR NUCLEAR
PLANT UNIT ONE, PROVIDING CLEAN, RELIABLE POWER TO ITS PEOPLE. AND
IT EXCEEDED 16,000 MILES OF TRANSMISSION LINES THROUGHOUT ITS
SEVEN-STATE REGION.

2000S
BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY, TVA CONTINUED TO FOCUS ON ENERGY,
ENVIRONMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WHILE ADAPTING TO
CHANGES IN ITS BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE.