The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned corporation created in 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression. TVA operates a series of hydroelectric dams and other power-generating facilities across its service area, which covers most of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small parts of Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia.
TVA's mission is to serve the people of the Tennessee Valley region by ensuring reliable power, economic development, and environmental stewardship. The corporation generates electricity through a mix of hydroelectric, nuclear, coal-fired, natural gas-fired, and renewable sources, and it sells this electricity to local power distributors, industrial customers, and federal agencies.
In addition to electricity generation, TVA manages and protects the natural resources of the Tennessee River watershed and works to promote economic development in the region. The corporation also provides flood control and navigation services on the Tennessee River and its tributaries, as well as recreational opportunities such as boating, fishing, and camping at TVA-owned reservoirs and public lands.
TVA is governed by a board of directors appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the Senate. The corporation is self-financed and operates without taxpayer funding, relying instead on revenue from power sales, bond sales, and other activities to cover its operating expenses and capital investments.
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