When the United States was in the grips of the Great Depression, not only were people lacking in jobs and food, but also access to natural resources. Just two months after assuming office, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Tennessee Valley Authority Act. The government-owned corporation currently supplies electric power to seven states.
In its early years, the Tennessee Valley Authority provided good jobs to unemployed Americans who had a hand in reconfiguring infrastructure and bringing electricity to areas previously without service. It is, without question, one of the most successful New Deal programs.
Established as a government corporation, the TVA does not receive taxpayer or government funding. Rather, it operates based on the revenue it generates. The TVA currently provides power to 10 million U.S. citizens using hydroelectric, nuclear-, electric-, and coal-fired power plants at rates lower than 80% of private-sector utilities. In each of 2024 and 2025, the Tennessee Valley Authority lowered its prices for customers.
FREE MARKET PRINCIPLES SHOULD GUIDE NEW TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY BOARD
For the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025, the TVA saw a record-high operating revenue of $13.7 billion. This was due to high demand for electricity service. If the TVA were a private company, it would be ranked in the Fortune 500.
Compare the Tennessee Valley Authority to other government corporations. In 2024, the U.S. Postal Service had a net operating loss of $9.5 billion. In 2025, Amtrak had a net operating loss of $1.7 billion.
The TVA is a model of efficiency, service, and success. In private sector companies, this would lead to promotions and hefty raises for the executives responsible for this level of success.
There is currently a consideration in Washington to cap Tennessee Valley Authority executive salaries at $500,000 per year. This may seem like a fiscally responsible move, but it will have long-term deleterious effects. While the TVA is a government corporation, it does not compete with other government agencies such as the departments of Energy or Agriculture. Its competitors are the biggest, most profitable utilities in the country.
The salaries of CEOs of private-sector utilities rival those of professional athletes. It is not only the CEO of TVA who would be affected by this. Between 3,000 and 4,000 employees would see pay cuts because salaries would have to be scaled downward based on the new cap.
If employee income is suddenly capped and scaled downward across the organization, workers will likely seek employment with one of the big private-sector utilities. Their success at Tennessee Valley Authority would make them welcome additions. They would leave the TVA to be replaced by employees with little or no experience, putting ratepayers at risk.
WHY OIL AND GAS PRICES ARE UP DESPITE US ‘ENERGY INDEPENDENCE’
The Tennessee Valley Authority has a long legacy of innovation and service. The customers served by the TVA do not need a mass exodus of good people. TVA keeps the lights on at some of the lowest prices in the country and protects all of us from attacks from bad actors. At this moment, making sweeping changes to the workforce at TVA nuclear plants seems like a bad idea.
TVA is poised to advance the president’s energy dominance agenda through new nuclear energy and affordable coal. Let’s keep the Tennessee Valley Authority moving forward.
Presidential Historian and Reagan biographer Craig Shirley is a New York Times bestselling author and has written many articles and essays on politics and the conservative movement.