All Reports

We performed an audit of costs billed to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) by Kiewit Power Constructors Company (Kiewit) under Contract No. 13156 for work performed in support of TVA’s coal combustion residual conversion program.  Our audit objective was to determine if the costs billed to TVA were in accordance with the contract’s terms.  Our audit scope included approximately $133.7 million in costs billed to TVA between January 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) performed the procedures, which were requested and agreed to by Tennessee Valley Authority management solely to assist management in determining the validity of the Winning Performance (WP)/Executive Annual Incentive Plan measures for fiscal year (FY) ending September 30, 2025.  Tennessee Valley Authority management is responsible for the WP measures data provided. In summary, procedures applied by the OIG found the:

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration states that establishing a safety and health program is one of the most effective ways of protecting workers.  The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Standard Programs and Processes (SPP) 18.004, Contractor Safety Management, establishes the contractor safety program and defines oversight requirements for managed task contractors and subcontractors working on TVA-owned-or-controlled sites to meet state and federal safety and health regulations.  

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) operates four coal plants, which are required to comply with the Clean Air Act (CAA).  In 2023, changes to the CAA required the reduction of nitrogen oxide (NOx) from power plants.  To comply with the changes, TVA made the decision to install Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems at TVA’s Shawnee Fossil Plant (SHF) for Units 2, 3, 7, and 8 and entered into a $59.5 million contract for the design and delivery of SCR systems (SCR systems are emission control technology designed to remove NOx from flue gases emitted by combus

The Office of the Inspector General performed an audit of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program due to the increased use of unmanned aircraft in TVA operations.  Our audit objectives were to determine if TVA's (1) UAS Program was in compliance with applicable federal requirements and (2) use of unmanned aircraft was in compliance with applicable TVA policies.  Our audit scope included TVA's use of unmanned aircraft from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2024.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Standard Programs and Processes 04.050, Investment Recovery, defines surplus material as material or equipment considered excess at a site that cannot be sold back to the original supplier or manufacturer.  Before items are considered surplus, TVA personnel are responsible for determining if the materials have a forecasted usage at the site or within the TVA fleet within 3 years.

In April 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency published the Disposal of Coal Combustion Residuals [CCR] from Electric Utilities (commonly referred to as the CCR Rule), which set forth national regulations for the safe disposal of coal ash from coal-fired power plants.  On May 8, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency finalized changes to the CCR Rule to include additional classes of regulated CCR storage facilities.

In January 2023, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that a portion of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Chattanooga Office Complex (COC), which consists of five buildings (Signal Place, Lookout Place, Missionary Ridge (MR), Blue Ridge (BR), and Monteagle Place), was being considered for the site of a new federal courthouse.  In anticipation of a possible move, TVA created a stand-alone project to vacate MR and BR and consolidate (Vacate and Consolidate) into the other three COC buildings.  In March 2024, TVA requested public input on

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the cost proposal submitted by a contractor for (1) outage and supplemental maintenance and modification services and (2) support services at TVA’s nuclear plants.  Our examination objective was to determine if the cost proposal was fairly stated for a planned $975 million contract.

TVA began hedging natural gas prices in April 2022 under the reinstated Financial Hedging Program (FHP). The program’s stated objectives are to reduce fuel rate volatility and balance operational and financial risks. From its reinstatement in April 2022 through February 2025, TVA’s FHP experienced losses of approximately $645 million.  We performed an audit of the FHP due to the financial risks associated with hedging. Our audit objective was to determine if TVA’s FHP is achieving its objectives of reducing fuel rate volatility and balancing operational a