TVA Employees, Retirees Pitch In to Help Katrina Evacuees
September 13, 2005
TVA employees throughout the Tennessee Valley have collected more than 3,500 cases of bottled water and nearly $27,000 in cash donations for people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Cash donations were used to buy additional water, household items and other supplies. The water and supplies were delivered by TVA truck drivers to distribution centers in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Additionally, employees at Sequoyah Nuclear Plant used donations to purchase Wal-Mart gift cards for Katrina evacuees staying in the Chattanooga area.
“The response by TVA employees to this relief effort is outstanding,” said TVA President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Kilgore. “A special thanks goes to all employees who helped organize and pull off this effort in such a short time – and, of course, to everyone who made a donation.”
Employees and retirees can continue to make cash contributions to a designated relief agency through the Combined Federal Campaign, which is held annually to give federal employees an opportunity to contribute to charitable, health and human service organizations, and TVA will match their donations with a contribution to the American Red Cross.
In addition to donations, other TVA assistance includes helping restore transmission facilities, electrical-system damage assessments, debris removal and vegetation management, safety and security support, and providing fuel and various types of equipment.
TVA’s Transmission/Power Supply organization coordinated its efforts with distributors of TVA power and provided line crews to help with power line repairs in the TVA service area. More than 100 TVA customer and contractor work crews have assisted with outages.
TVA Fossil Power Group’s Heavy Equipment Division provided mobile fuel tanks and other equipment and has transported about 40,000 gallons of fuel that was used to produce power while lines were being restored. TVA also provided debris-removal equipment, and TVA Police assisted with security.
Also, members of Bicentennial Volunteers Inc., a TVA retiree and service organization, are helping with restoration efforts in some of the most heavily damaged areas along the Gulf Coast. To date, BVI members have contributed more than $25,000 to the relief efforts, which TVA will also match.
TVA is the nation’s largest public power provider and is completely self-financed. TVA provides power to large industries and 158 power distributors that serve approximately 8.6 million consumers in seven southeastern states.
Media Contact
Michelle Sherrard
TVA News Bureau, Knoxville, (865) 632-6000
