Ben R. Wagner was sworn in as Inspector General of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on June 6, 2022, following confirmation by the United States Senate.
Ben Wagner's professional career with TVA spanned 38 years of dedicated service. The majority of his career included 31 years of service to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at TVA. Prior to his retirement in 2017, he served in several senior executive positions in the TVA OIG including the role of Senior Advisor, Stakeholder Relations and Deputy Inspector General where he led the audits, evaluations, investigations, and administrative functions. In addition to these senior executive roles, Wagner held several leadership positions in the audits, evaluations, and administrative functions with the TVA OIG and was integral to the start-up of the office after it was established at TVA in 1985. In the seven years before joining the TVA OIG, Wagner also held various management and staff positions in TVA, primarily in the nuclear power program. Prior to that, he served as a state auditor for the State of Tennessee.
Wagner was born in New Mexico, but has resided in the Tennessee Valley region for the majority of his life, receiving his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee.
MESSAGE FROM THE INSPECTOR GENERAL BEN WAGNER
I am pleased to present our report for the period April 1, 2025, to September 30, 2025. On October 18, 2025, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will mark its 40th anniversary since the TVA Board of Directors (TVA Board) created our office during a challenging time for TVA’s nuclear program. Since its creation, our dedicated and professional staff have conducted reviews throughout TVA with a focus on saving TVA money, finding ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of TVA programs, and preventing and detecting fraud, waste, and abuse.
Our feature, “40 Years of Making TVA Better,” looks back at the last four decades—the environment TVA operated in each decade and the Inspectors General that led our office as well as highlights some of the significant projects in each decade. As you will see in this report, our office, over the past 40 years, identified more than $3 billion in questioned costs, funds to be put to better use, recoveries and projected savings, and waste as well as numerous recommendations to improve its programs and operations. Additionally, our work resulted in more than 800 criminal actions, more than 2,600 administrative actions, and 7 debarments.
In this semiannual period, our audit, evaluation, and investigative activities identified more than $31.4 million in questioned costs; funds to be put to better use; recoveries, fees, and savings; and opportunities for TVA to improve its programs and operations. Below are highlights of our work this period.
- TVA spends about $5.5 billion annually on contracts primarily for labor and services and plant equipment to maintain the generation fleet and to continue the expansion of capacity with new generation facilities. The OIG continues to aggressively audit these contracts to identify potential savings and recoveries to help TVA reduce costs. During this period, we completed three contract compliance audits which identified potential overbillings and cost savings opportunities of almost $1.9 million. We also completed four preaward examinations which identified $25.9 million of potential savings opportunities for TVA.
- TVA maintains 33 regulated coal combustion residual (CCR) storage facilities across 11 current or former coal plants. We performed an evaluation to determine if TVA is performing required inspections and maintenance of CCR storage facilities. We found TVA performed required inspections and maintenance of CCR storage facilities. However, we also determined (1) TVA did not maintain a comprehensive list of instrumentation requiring monitoring, (2) some issues were not identified or resolved, (3) remediation
of minor issues was not documented, (4) annual inspection reports did not document review of weekly inspections, and (5) some inspectors did not have required training. - TVA evaluated alternatives for the five Chattanooga Office Complex (COC) buildings, in response to the complex being considered for the site of a new federal courthouse. We performed a review to evaluate the financial impacts of the options being considered for the COC. We determined that TVA’s analysis of the options for the COC could have been improved. Specifically, (1) TVA did not compare the financial impacts of the four alternatives identified and (2) the economic analysis was flawed. Subsequently, TVA took interim actions to address the concerns before making the decision to remain in three of the five COC buildings.
- TVA has developed a dam safety program to protect lives and property by ensuring the 106 structures within the program are designed, constructed, and maintained safely. We performed an evaluation to determine if maintenance and inspections had been performed in accordance with established schedules. We found TVA has generally performed maintenance but has not performed all inspections in accordance with established schedules for TVA dams. We also determined that TVA had not taken timely actions to address 34 recommendations from inspections and risk assessments.
- Four individuals pled guilty in an international telemedicine health care fraud kickback scheme. Two of the four individuals have been sentenced to probationary sentences and over $1 million in restitution. The remaining two defendants will be sentenced at a later date.
- An international elevator services firm agreed to settle allegations under the False Claims Act for more than $600,000. The allegations related to invoices submitted to TVA for preventative maintenance services that were not rendered pursuant to contract terms.
- An investigation into an employee’s workers compensation claim led to the U.S. Department of Labor denying the claim citing insufficient evidence to establish a sustained injury as defined by the Federal Employee’s Compensation Act. The denial saved TVA approximately $1.9 million in wage loss compensation.
I want to thank Beth Geer, who transitioned off the TVA Board during this reporting period, for her service and engagement with our office. The TVA Board no longer has a quorum; however, President Donald J. Trump has nominated five individuals for the TVA Board. We look forward to working with them once they are confirmed.
For 40 years, the TVA OIG team has approached our work with the purpose of providing an independent view of TVA operations and recommendations to help TVA’s Board, management, and employees achieve its mission.
Every decade brings its changes and challenges that must be navigated; but one thing remains the same—TVA and TVA OIG must continue to evolve and work hard every day to find ways to navigate the challenges of today and the future for the betterment of the 10 million residents of the Valley.