All Reports

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) received an EmPowerline complaint on January 4, 2016, alleging a chilled/hostile working environment in Operations at Watts Bar Nuclear (WBN) plant. The OIG investigated the allegation and communicated information related to the chilled work environment to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). On March 23, 2016, the NRC issued TVA a chilled work environment letter (CWEL) and required TVA to conduct a root cause analysis and take other actions.

We audited the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) corporate card transactions from October 1, 2013, through June 30, 2016, totaling $45.2 million to determine the effectiveness of the processes TVA has in place for tax-exempt credit card transactions. We found the processes TVA has in place for tax-exempt corporate card transactions are not effective.

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the cost proposal submitted by a company for handling and maintenance of coal combustion products. Our examination objective was to determine if the company's cost proposal was fairly stated for a planned <br> $100 million contract.

This report is a follow-up to an interim report we issued on July 11, 2016 regarding TVA's proposed sale of Bellefonte Nuclear Plant site (Evaluation 2016-15376). Under the interim report we determined TVA had taken reasonable actions to date to promote transparency of the sales process and evaluated alternative uses for the site. In addition, we determined TVA appears to have considered the significant risks associated with selling the Bellefonte site.

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the cost proposal submitted by a contractor for nuclear modifications, outage and supplemental maintenance, and technical support services at TVA's three operating nuclear plants. Our examination objective was to determine if the company's cost proposal was fairly stated for a planned $950 million contract. In our opinion, the company's cost proposal was fairly stated.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) uses anhydrous ammonia in selective catalytic reduction systems to aid in the removal of nitrogen oxide, a by-product of burning coal. Anhydrous ammonia is hazardous when inhaled, ingested, or when it comes in contact with the eyes, skin, or mucous membranes. Based on safety risks associated with the handling of ammonia, we initiated an evaluation to determine the adequacy of staffing and training of ammonia operations at coal plants.

John Sevier Fossil Plant (JSF) is the first in a series of planned plant retirements to enter the demolition phase of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Decommissioning, Deactivation, Decontamination, and Demolition (D4) process. In the demolition phase, the plant, associated equipment, facilities, and structures are removed. Demolition also includes creating conditions for proper site drainage and establishing vegetation. TVA contracted with Brandenburg Industrial Service Company (Brandenburg) to perform the demolition at JSF.

The OIG analyzed the metrics and associated maturity levels defined within the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Inspectors General (IG) Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) Reporting Metrics and found TVA's maturity levels for the five cybersecurity functional areas ranged from level 1, ad hoc, to level 3, consistently implemented.

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the cost proposal submitted by a contractor for non-nuclear modification and supplemental maintenance services and technical support services. Our objective was to determine if the cost proposal was fairly stated for a planned $950 million contract. In our opinion, the cost proposal was overstated. Specifically, the proposal included overstated nonmanual payroll tax rates and fringe benefit rates.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) vendor management system is a cloud based system physically located away from TVA facilities and outsourced to a third party. The OIG audited the vendor management system to assess the (1) data processing and application controls to ensure data integrity and reliability and (2) logical security controls to ensure only authorized access to system resources and protection of sensitive information. Our scope included TVA's vendor management system and its interfaces to TVA systems.