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TVA Privacy Policy

Updated September 10, 2024

TVA Web Sites

TVA uses several websites to interact with the public and customers. 

TVA.gov provides information about TVA and our activities to the public.

TVA Kids provides educational materials and games to children and teachers.

TVA Economic Development provides information about TVA’s development programs.

TVA Sites allows interested parties to search available buildings and sites in the TVA region for the best match for their needs.

EnergyRight provides information about energy efficiency and renewable energy to individuals, businesses, and industries.

TVA Supplier Connections allows individuals and companies interested in providing services or products to TVA to register with TVA. It also provides information prospective or current TVA vendors.

Valley Connect is a service for TVA power customers; Valley municipal cooperatives, and public power associations; and trade and business groups that work directly with TVA business units. The site provides a personalized, single entry point to online applications, news and events, production information and the TVA eMarketplace.

TVA also maintains official accounts on several social media outlets.

Automatic Collection of Information

When you visit our Web site, we automatically collect some general, anonymous information about your visit to help us improve navigation on our site or investigate disruption of service attacks. This information includes: the date and time of your visit; an Internet Protocol (IP) address; the browser software and operating system used for your visit; and the content of any sent or received cookie(s). This information is technical in nature, is not used to identify who you are and is collected in the aggregate for statistical purposes.

Personal Information That You Voluntarily Provide

You are not required to provide any personal information to us to access information on tva.gov, tvakids.gov, tvasites.com, EnergyRight, EnergyRight Advertising e-Notebook or TVAsites. If you choose to provide us with personal information, such as by sending a message to an email address on this website, ordering marketing materials, submitting a blog post to The Valley Works, or by filling out a form and submitting it through our website, we will use that information to respond to your message or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication.

TVA business partners who use TVA Supplier Connections or TVA Online Connection must create accounts in order to make use of those resources.  The information collected in order to create the account will be used to manage the account, confirm the user’s identity and to provide related services.

How the Information is Used

We may store non-personally identifiable information we collect indefinitely to help us better understand and meet the needs of our visitors. By sending us an electronic mail message (for example, by sending us an email message, taking our Energy Online Evaluation, applying for a career at TVA, or subscribing to any of our email alert services), you may be sending us personally identifying information, such as name and address. In these cases, we may retain the information as long as necessary to respond to your request or otherwise resolve the subject matter of your email. Please be aware that email is not necessarily secure from third-party interception or misdirection. For your own protection, you may wish to communicate sensitive information using a method other than email.

Service Providers

We use third-party vendors to support our websites and online services (such as a printer, email, analytics providers, forms and questionnaires, web hosting providers, payment processors, web applications or data enhancement provider) and to help us market our products and services. These companies may need to collect information about you in order to perform their functions.

Cookie Use and Traffic Data

Website measurement and customization technologies (commonly called “cookies" ) are small bits of text that are downloaded to your internet browser when you visit a website. The Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-10-22, Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies defines conditions under which Federal agencies may use session and persistent cookies. TVA enables by default the use of Tier 1 session cookies as well as Tier 2 persistent multi-session cookies.  Session cookies last only as long as your Web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies remain on your computer between visits to TVA for two years.  TVA Web sites and third-party service providers may use cookies to collect information about your visit to our sites; however, cookies set by or on behalf of TVA do not collect personal information about you, but only about your browser "session." This non-personal information is not disclosed to third parties and may be retained by TVA for Web site improvement and customization purposes, in compliance with TVA's policies for privacy and data safeguarding.
We collect this information in accordance with the Digital Government Strategy. In order to help agencies meet the milestones laid out in the Digital Government Strategy, the General Services Administration (GSA) procured a custom Google Analytics solution. This solution is utilized on TVA Web sites. Please refer to the following policies on Google’s website for more information:

Other service providers may use cookies in order to collect data about how our sites are used, to optimize your experience, and to provide additional services to visitors to our site. These services may use cookies in order to provide their services for TVA or website visitors and to collect information about the use and performance of their services. The information collected may include information about your device and your use of the website.

You can set your computer to reject (i.e. "opt out" of) cookies, and you will still be able to access all of the informational resources provided on our sites. However, some of the customized and dynamic features may not function properly or as efficiently. To learn more about how to opt out of cookies, please click here.

Individuals’ Access to Their Data

The Privacy Act of 1974 protects the personal information the federal government keeps on individuals in Systems of Records (SOR). Please note that the Privacy Act does not cover all information collected online. More detailed information concerning the Privacy Act, including a listing of TVA Systems of Records Notices (SORNs), can be found at: www.tva.com/Information/Freedom-of-Information/Privacy-Act.

Social Networking

In order to encourage greater public participation, collaboration, and transparency, TVA currently maintains official Corporation accounts on commercial social network sites, including YouTube, LinkedIn, Flickr, Facebook, and Twitter. TVA does not collect, maintain or disseminate information posted by visitors to these sites. Additionally, the Corporation does not endorse or control the comments or opinions provided by visitors to these sites. Please note that the TVA Privacy Policy does not extend to, or have authority over, the privacy policy of any commercial social networking sites you may visit. Therefore, if you choose to interact with the TVA on a commercial third-party site, please review carefully the privacy policy of the third party. Click on the following to view the privacy policies of YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.

Children Online

TVA recognizes the particular importance of protecting privacy where children are involved. We are committed to protecting children's privacy. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information online from children under the age of 13. If we determine that a child under 13 has provided personal information in violation of this policy, we will delete that information as soon as practical. If you become aware that such information has been provided by a child under 13, please use the Contact Information below to submit a request to delete the information.

Links to Other Sites

Our website has links to the websites of other federal agencies and private organizations. You will be notified when you access one of these links, warning you that you are leaving the official TVA web site. Once you access another site through a link that we provide, you are subject to the privacy policy of the new site. For more information, please visit TVA’s External Link Policy.

Security

This government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause disruption or damage. Such attempts are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits.

TVA information systems may be protected by EINSTEIN cybersecurity capabilities, under the operational control of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT). Electronic communications with TVA may be scanned by government-owned or contractor equipment to look for network traffic indicating known or suspected malicious cyber activity, including malicious content or communications. Electronic communications within TVA will be collected or retained by US-CERT only if they are associated with known or suspected cyber threats. US-CERT will use the information collected through EINSTEIN to analyze the known or suspected cyber threat and help TVA and other agencies respond and better protect their computers and networks.

For additional information about EINSTEIN capabilities, please see the EINSTEIN program-related Privacy Impact Assessments available on the DHS cybersecurity privacy website along with other information about the federal government’s cybersecurity activities.

TVA Privacy Program

The Program is based on the Privacy Act of 1974, as implemented by Office of Management and Budget Circular A-130, the E-Government Act of 2002, and Agency policies. The objective of the Program is to balance the information requirements and operational needs of TVA against the privacy interests of the individual.

The Senior Privacy Program Manager performs multiple functions, including:

  • Developing and implementing policy and serving as the TVA focal point for privacy matters,
  • Providing policy guidance and assistance to the agency in implementation and execution of their privacy responsibilities,
  • Reviewing new and existing laws, regulations and policies which impact on privacy,
  • Coordinating and submitting for publication in the Federal Register Privacy Act system of record notices and Privacy Act rulemaking,
  • Reviewing, coordinating and adjudicating Privacy Impact Assessments,
  • Conducting reviews of privacy issues to determine compliance with the Privacy Act, Section 208 of the E-Government Act, and other Privacy Program policies,
  • Serving as the principal advisor to the Senior Agency Official for Privacy,
  • Providing administrative support to the TVA Incident Response Team

Read more information on the TVA Privacy Program.

Contact Information

If you have privacy-related questions or complaints, please contact:

Chris Marsalis
Senior Privacy Program Manager

OR

KC Carnes
Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP)

Tennessee Valley Authority
400 W. Summit Hill Dr.
Knoxville, TN 37902-1499
[email protected]