Oversight Responsibility for Tennessee Valley Authority

In a recent report, GAO reviewed the extent to which the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Act gives Congress oversight responsibilities for the TVA power program and options which are available to improve oversight. Congress established and maintained the TVA Board of Directors as the single and final authority on many TVA power activities and decisions including those related to power planning, ratemaking, and public involvement. The options identified by GAO for increasing congressional oversight were limited to those which have either applied to TVA in the past or which currently apply to other utilities. Regularly scheduled oversight hearings could provide a nonadversarial forum for TVA to present to Congress information on the power program, including identifying key and controversial issues facing the Board and problems requiring congressional action for resolution. Currently, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provides only a cursory review of the annual power program budget. More comprehensive OMB reviews could provide Congress, the President, and the public with an understanding of how the TVA power program and associated expenditures relate to national fiscal and energy policies. By placing the TVA ratemaking process under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, TVA electric rates would be subject to mandatory scrutiny by parties outside of TVA. Because this would conflict with the Board's statutory responsibility and accountability, it would require statutory changes. Requiring the Board to publish records of decisions on major rate and resource development actions would guarantee all interested parties an opportunity to review and comment on TVA rate proposals before they are adopted and would require the Board to justify and explain the methodologies used in developing the rates. A statutory requirement that TVA develop a long-range strategic plan for power planning would provide Congress with an additional opportunity for policy input. As an alternative, a regional planning council could be established to be responsible for power planning. Including policies related to conservation and public involvement and participation to the Act would provide a basis for evaluating the adequacy of Board actions and programs in these areas. Congressional action to reduce the amount of bonds TVA could issue would serve as a continuing point of oversight.