All Reports

We performed an audit of costs billed to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) by a contractor for below grade inspection, maintenance, and repair of electrical transmission structures on the TVA system. The contract provided for TVA to pay the contractor in accordance with the pricing schedule, covering both the time spent performing the work and the cost of any materials provided.  The pricing schedule included rates for a wide range of tasks performed on TVA’s steel towers, steel poles, and wood poles.  In addition to the task-based pricing, when labor-related costs were not included within the task unit rates, the pricing schedule included (1) hourly labor rates for general foremen and general laborers and (2) daily crew rates.  The daily crew rates were to consist of, among other things, one general foreman and five general laborers for ten hours per day.  Our objective was to determine if costs billed were in accordance with the contract’s terms. Our audit scope included $15.2 million in costs paid to the contractor from October 1, 2023, through January 23, 2026.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) utilizes staff augmentation contractors to supplement its workforce.  Staff augmentation contractors are provided to TVA through staff augmentation vendors and are under the supervision of a TVA manager or supervisor.  Staff augmentation vendors are required to provide contractors that meet qualification requirements.

Due to the risks associated with personally identifiable information, we conducted an audit of TVA’s privacy impact assessment process for cloud systems and programs.  Our objective was to determine if TVA has completed privacy impact assessments for cloud systems and programs in accordance with TVA policy and federal guidance.  We made two recommendations to TVA management.  The specifics are being withheld from public release due to the sensitive nature in relation to TVA’s cybersecurity.

We performed an audit of costs billed to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) by a contractor for coal combustion residual engineering services under Contract Nos. 13051 and 17936.  Our audit objective was to determine if costs billed to TVA were in accordance with the contracts’ terms.  Our audit scope included approximately $69.4 million in costs paid to the contractor between February 23, 2023, and September 12, 2025, including (1) $54.5 million in costs paid from February 23, 2023, through September 12, 2025, under Contract No.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) manages devices that may contain critical infrastructure information, personally identifiable information, or sensitive business information.  Failure to properly handle and report lost or stolen devices increases the risk of unauthorized access to TVA data.  Additionally, federal agencies are required to report lost or stolen computing devices to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. 

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) must continually invest in transmission assets to ensure reliable power delivery.  In recent years, lead times for transmission materials, including some power circuit breakers and transformers, switch houses, conductors, and poles, have increased substantially.  The TVA Risk Portfolio includes extended lead times as an emerging issue within supply chain and states that delayed materials could threaten timely project completion.  Due to the importance of having materials and equipment available when needed, we performed an evaluation

The Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) requires each agency’s Inspector General (IG) to conduct an annual independent evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the information security program (ISP) and practices of its respective agency.  Our audit scope was limited to answering the fiscal year (FY) 2025 IG metrics, which include 20 core and 5 supplemental IG metrics.  The FISMA methodology considers metrics at a maturity level 4 (managed and measurable) or higher to be at an effective level of security.

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) business unit (BU) focuses on identifying and prioritizing enterprise risks.  Annually, ERM leads the preparation of an enterprise risk portfolio, which includes risks across TVA, to aid leadership in strategic and business planning processes.  Each BU includes their specific risks in the portfolio and documents the probability of occurrence, financial impact, and actions to manage the risk.  TVA Generation included Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) reliance risk in its fiscal year (FY) 2026

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) demand response (DR) programs offer incentives for electric utility customers to reduce their energy use during peak demand, which reduces the need for generation and helps support the reliability of the local electric grid.  TVA entered into a DR power supply agreement with a company on January 1, 2021, to administer a TVA DR program.  Our audit objective was to determine if the company complied with the payment and DR performance provisions of the contract.  Our audit included approximately $11.7 million in costs paid from J

The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Power Service Shop (PSS) performs work for internal and external customers, including mechanical, electrical and civil work.  PSS invoiced approximately $128 million for 161 projects for external customers that were closed in fiscal years (FY) 2024 or 2025.  According to PSS, approximately 99 percent of the external revenue is received from federal customers.  TVA Standard Programs and Processes (SPP) 13.007, Other Revenue (External Business), requires TVA to recover all costs for providing produc