February 2008
TVA turns 75
The Tennessee Valley Authority is celebrating its 75th anniversary in May 2008. The TVA Act was signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on May 18, 1933. TVA has a long, proud history of serving the Tennessee Valley by providing reliable, affordable electricity, supporting a thriving river system, and stimulating economic growth. Here’s TVA at a glance:
• Nation’s largest public power provider, completely self-financing
• 159 distributor customers, 59 directly served industries
• Competitive rates, among the nation’s lowest
• Diverse power sources, including coal, nuclear, hydro, combustion turbines, and renewables
• Nation’s first nuclear unit brought online in the 21st century – Brown’s Ferry Unit 1
• 99.999% transmission reliability for the past eight years in a row
• Serves the needs of 8.8 million residents in seven southeastern states: most of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Virginia.
Partnership Focus: Appalachian Regional Commission
One of TVA Economic Development’s key partners is the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), a federal-state program that helps people in Appalachian communities improve their quality of life through increased investment in physical infrastructure and capacity-building initiatives. TVA serves as the administrator for many projects funded by the ARC.
In fiscal 2007, ARC projects in the TVA area leveraged more than $25 million in capital investment and 1,500 jobs. TVA and ARC recently signed a new memorandum of understanding and renewed their commitment to working together to address the development needs of Appalachia.
"ARC is pleased to continue and expand its relationship with TVA to promote community and economic development,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Anne B. Pope. “TVA is one of our strongest partners in job creation and development of key infrastructure serving the region’s businesses.”
View a map and description of the ARC territory.
TVA efforts help minority-owned telecom firm expand
TVA has facilitated the expansion of Detroit-based Empire Electric Supply, a minority-owned supplier of telecommunications components, into the Tennessee Valley. In December, Empire announced the acquisition of CSC Electrical Supply in Smyrna, Tenn. The $420,000 investment is expected to create three new jobs and retain five. Empire will become a supplier to TVA.
TVA Economic Development helped facilitate the expansion through its Valley Business Ventures program, which assists high-growth woman- and minority-owned companies with business development, procurement opportunities, and accessing capital to achieve sustainable revenue growth.
“TVA was very instrumental in helping Empire Electric open our first location within TVA’s footprint," said company President Tommy Longest. "Because of the efforts of the Economic Development team, Empire was able to identify acquisition opportunities using GIS data along with other key factors. TVA has been a joy to work with, and Empire Electric looks forward to continued expansion and job creation throughout the seven states.”
Several TVA groups contributed to the effort to recruit Empire, including Procurement, Customer Service, and Corporate Responsibility and Diversity. “We plan to include the company in a mentoring program to further enhance their capabilities, capacity and competitiveness,” says Paul LaPointe, TVA’s senior vice president of Procurement.
TVA promotes energy conservation
More efficient power use is a key element in TVA’s strategy to meet the future energy needs of the Tennessee Valley and keep electricity rates affordable. TVA and local power distributors are kicking off the new year with a renewed effort to inform consumers and provide tools for saving energy and money. More information will be presented throughout the year. In the meantime, learn about cost-saving energy-efficiency tips for homes and businesses at these sites:
www.energyright.com. Residents in the Tennessee Valley service area can do a home energy audit online at this site. Those who complete the audit will receive a free home energy efficiency kit and a personalized profile illustrating their overall electricity use and listing specific actions they can take to reduce energy costs.
www.TVAed.com. See link to Energy Information Library at bottom right of home page.
www.eere.energy.gov. U.S. Department of Energy site on energy technologies.
www.energystar.gov/. DOE site with products and services related to energy efficiency.
Mark your calendar
Rural Development Conference, April 2-3, 2008, Cookeville, Tenn.
TVA is one of the sponsors of the 13th annual conference, featuring tools for economic success. Session topics will include site location, rural community stewardship, tourism, communications, housing, web sites, recruiting retail businesses, and entrepreneurial development. Read more and register online.
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