All Reports

The Office of the Inspector General reviewed the IT controls for granting and monitoring non-nuclear contractor access to TVA Assets, including general network access. The OIG found TVA's controls over processes for managing and tracking non-Nuclear contractor logical and physical access need to be strengthened to reduce the risk of loss or compromise of sensitive TVA data and physical assets.

We audited $2.2 million in costs billed to TVA by Pressure's On, Inc. (POI), for providing vacuuming services at TVA's fossil and nuclear plants. Our objective was to determine if POI had billed TVA in accordance with the contract terms and conditions.

We completed agreed-upon procedures to assist the Center for Resource Solutions in determining TVA's compliance with the annual reporting requirements of CRS' Green Pricing Accreditation Program for the year ended December 31, 2010. The results of the procedures applied were provided to the Center for Resource Solutions. Summary Only

In 2007, TVA issued a procedure to ensure consistancy in the tracking and handling of contract documents and associated files across TVA. The procedure established a standard method to be used by all TVA organizations for the storage and retrieval of contract documentation in Contracts Central, TVA's repository for contract records.We conducted an audit of Supply Chain's centralized handling of contract documents to assess and determine compliance with the policy, We found Supply Chain was not in compliance with TVA' s policies regarding the use of Contracts Central.

We reviewed TVA cost recovery for tritium production under Interagency Agreement DE-A102-00DP00315 with the Department of Energy (DOE). The audit covered the period from January 2000 through December 2009 with some scope restrictions due to incomplete accounting data. We were unable to determine if tritium production costs were accurately identified and invoiced or if any negative impacts on plant operation from tritium production were reimbursed by DOE due to inadequate documentation.

Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) fossil fleet consists of 56 operating units at 11 fossil plants in the Tennessee Valley. Through the third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2010, TVA purchased 25.2 million tons of coal totaling $1.36 billion and burned 25.7 million tons totaling $1.50 billion. TVA's fuel inventory as of June 30, 2010, was $518,658,383. We assessed the operating effectiveness of the controls over the receipt and burning of coal at the fossil plants, including inventory adjustments.

The OIG performed an audit of Florence Electricity Department (Florence), a distributor of Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power based in Florence, Alabama. Florence also operates water, waste water, and gas departments, and provides billing services for these utilities and other municipalities. Annual revenues from electric sales were approximately $116 million in fiscal year (FY) 2009.

As part of our annual inspection plan, we initiated a review of the fire protection systems at the Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant. In meeting with plant personnel, we were informed that in July 2010, Marsh Risk Consulting issued a report which included a number of recommendations for the plant to improve fire protection at the site. Based upon this, we decided to perform a walkdown of the site and a limited review of testing/inspection documentation for a sample of the fixed fire protection systems at the site.We noted no issues during our walkdown of the facility.

TVA entered into contract No. 65419 with Bechtel Power Corporation on October 19, 2007, to provide engineering, construction, and procurement work related to the restart of Unit 2 at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant (WBN U2). Section II-13 - Correction of the Work Prior to Commencement of Warranty Period of the contract stipulates the guidelines related to what does and does not constitute rework as it relates to determining Bechtel's performance fee.

The OIG performed an audit of Newport Utilities, a distributor for Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) power based in Newport, Tennessee. Newport Utilities also operates nonelectric businesses, which are water and sewer utilities. Annual revenues from electric sales were approximately $50 million in fiscal year 2009.