Triennial Assessment of the Tennessee Valley Authority--Fiscal Years 1977-1979

GAO summarized its work and reports accomplished during fiscal years 1977, 1978, and 1979 at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). It assessed the TVA role as a leader in the electric utility industry and made recommendations concerning: TVA systems for planning and for forecasting electricity needs in its service area; a number of supply and demand options available to TVA to permit it to better manage the demand on its power system and thus to reduce the need for additional generating facilities; and a number of methods for generating electricity in more ecologically acceptable ways. GAO evaluated what action TVA could take to better manage demand on its power system through load controls. It also did two reviews of TVA water resource development activities. One focused on actions that might increase power production at TVA dams; the other looked at the adequacy of its benefit-cost study for the controversial Tellico Dam. It also reported on the TVA basis for estimating its nuclear powerplant cost and construction schedules and for assessing its need for automatic data processing equipment. GAO evaluated the adequacy of statutory protection given TVA employees in the collective bargaining process and provided information on certain contracting and personnel management activities. From 1977 to 1979, TVA was the subject of what has been characterized as the largest environmental enforcement litigation ever involving its 10 coal-fired plants. TVA was involved in defending itself on both sides of the clean air issue, with one group alleging that TVA is doing too little and the other alleging that it is doing too much. During this period, the TVA debt ceiling was doubled to $30 billion to enable the agency to meet power program commitments during the next 5 years.

Many of the activities either underway or planned by TVA are responsive to the recommendations in these GAO reports. The agency is trying to improve its planning and electrical forecasting processes, undertaking several conservation and demand management programs, working to develop energy from renewable resources and using new technologies, pursuing development of ecologically acceptable methods of using coal, basing nuclear facility estimates on better information, and exercising better management and control of its automatic data processing resources. However, TVA has not acted very rapidly in developing joint solar projects with the Department of Energy. TVA has focused its cogeneration efforts on developing cogeneration using proven technologies and has limited its pursuit of cogeneration using less proven fuels and technologies to its fuel cell and coal gasification programs. It could achieve greater cogeneration potential and serve the people of both the region and the Nation by also developing innovative cogeneration demonstrations that use other less proven fuels and modes of cogeneration. Agency officials have not implemented a Valley-wide program to control water heaters. It has not established a system to periodically reevaluate its hydroelectric projects. TVA has not enhanced participation by its employees in the collective bargaining process. TVA employees are still exempt from labor relations legislation affecting private and other public employees.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: No director on record Team: No team on record Phone: No phone on record