All Reports

Based upon questions posed to OIG personnel regarding TVA's criteria for the adjustment of tributary water levels, the OIG conducted a review of TVA's Reservoir Operations. Our objectives were to determine (1) whether criteria exist to balance the competing objectives of managing water in TVA reservoirs, (2) how those objectives compare to those of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and (3) whether TVA was following its criteria.

Based on reports of government and contractor employees obtaining phony/counterfeit educational degrees, we conducted a review of Bechtel and subcontractor employees assigned to the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant Unit 2 Construction Completion Project (WBN U2 Project). Our objective was to validate, for selected personnel, the highest educational degree listed on the resume submitted for employment. Our review found no instances where an employee was hired based on a fraudulent degree. However, neither Bechtel nor the OIG was successful in verifying one employee's degree.

We reviewed TVA's decision to construct a gas plant in northeast Tennessee to determine if TVA's analyses supporting its decision were reasonable. TVA's decision was initiated by a court-ordered accelerated schedule to install emission control equipment at John Sevier Fossil Plant, which would require TVA to shut down units at the plant for about 20 months during the construction.

This review was the third in a series of reviews that will benchmark TVA's performance in key areas and answer the question, "How is TVA doing in regard to operational performance." In conducting this review we: (1) assessed key performance measures and their alignment with the key strategic objectives, (2) evaluated TVA's performance relative to key performance indicators by using target metrics and available benchmark information, and (3) identified key management challenges confronting TVA.

We audited $25 million of costs billed to TVA by a contractor from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2008, for the administration of TVA's dental benefit plan. Our objective was to determine if the costs billed to TVA were in compliance with the contract terms and conditions. In summary, we found TVA had been overbilled $25,591, including: (1) $17,713 for duplicate claim payments; (2) $832 for claims which exceeded plan limits; and (3) $7,046 for ineligible orthodontic payments.

We performed three agreed-upon procedures which were requested solely to assist TVA management in determining the validity of TVA's Winning Performance (WP) payout awards for the year ended September 30, 2009.

The OIG performed a review of Bolivar Energy Authority (Bolivar), a distributor for TVA power based in Bolivar, Tennessee. Our review of Bolivar found issues involving customer classification and metering that could impact (1) the proper reporting of electric sales, and (2) nondiscrimination in providing electricity to members of the same rate class.

Change is coming to TVA...and much of it is internally driven. Undoubtedly, the coal ash spill at the Kingston plant on December 22, 2008, set some of those changes in motion, but the TVA Board and TVA management have reacted with a commitment to make the changes necessary to make TVA better. Yes, Kingston was an environmental tragedy, but ultimately the TVA that is emerging is likely to be better able to serve the needs of Valley residents. As we have pointed out in our reports on Kingston, this was a disaster that did not need to occur.

We conducted four reviews to determine whether each coal supplier was in compliance with weighing and sampling provisions of the respective contract. We performed tests to verify that shipment weight documentation maintained at each mine supported the amounts used to support invoices to TVA for tonnage shipped. In summary, our reviews found documentation maintained at the respective mine for ten randomly selected shipments agreed with the information provided to TVA regarding tons shipped.

The OIG performed a review of the Hickman-Fulton Counties Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation (Hickman-Fulton) which is a distributor for TVA power based in Hickman, Kentucky.