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The strength of TVA is its people. An experienced, talented and diverse workforce of nearly 10,000 women and men committed – each and every day – to improving the quality of life for the approximately 10 million we serve.
At TVA, our unique, long-standing mission of service drives and inspires our employees to continually pursue new ideas and innovative solutions that improve our service to our customers. This year, we faced a unique challenge: keeping the lights on while also keeping our teams safe and healthy during a global pandemic.
Our dedicated workforce overcame these challenges, delivering vital services and support across the region. Our employees are on the job every day generating power, controlling river flows, restoring power after storms, helping the economy recover and much more.
Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, our employees delivered for the customers and communities we proudly serve. We are committed to ensuring that our region continues to make a strong recovery from the pandemic.
Highlighting Our Employees
Our dedicated and talented employees are committed to TVA’s unique, long-standing mission of service. Through their efforts, TVA provides low-cost, reliable and clean energy; attracts businesses and jobs to the region and protects our natural resources through environmental stewardship. We are proud of their commitment of service to you. Below are highlights of a few of our employees.
Dr. Noelle Currey
In early 2020, Dr. Noelle Currey was awarded TVA’s highest engineering honor — Ike Zeringue Engineer of the Year — after being nominated by her peers and leaders based on criteria that include project performance, continuous improvement and a commitment to safety. Currey is a TVA project engineer in Transmission Power Supply & Support with eight years of service.
Currey received the award for a programming solution that checks electrical drawings with 100% accuracy to eliminate errors and rework. In under a minute, the program can evaluate thousands of wires contained in switch house panels — previously reviewed one at a time. The estimated cost savings for TVA is several million dollars. Her work helps TVA deliver 99.999% power reliability, as it has since 2000.
“TVA is built on the work of dedicated employees; and each year, we have the distinct pleasure of recognizing an individual who exemplifies excellence in the engineering field and commitment to TVA’s mission of service,” said TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash. “Noelle’s innovation is helping TVA to continue to generate low-cost, reliable, clean energy — a key factor when companies choose to relocate or expand in our region.”
Each day, Currey makes sure TVA’s transmission power supply projects are completed on time and on budget, which keeps TVA power rates among some of the lowest in the nation.
“Noelle has distinguished herself as a leader who helps keep electricity flowing to our homes and businesses,” said Bob Dalrymple, TVA senior vice president, Transmission & Power Supply. “More importantly, her automated solution ensures the continued safety and high performance of TVA’s grid through lower production cost and error reduction.”
Currey is a graduate of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. Currey earned her master’s and doctorate degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
TVA’s top engineering award is named for O.J. “Ike” Zeringue, a former TVA president, chief operating officer and chief nuclear officer.
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Drew Frye
Senior Power Utilization Engineer | Chattanooga
Drew Frye spends his days looking into the future of TVA, working to make that future better. He’s one man who can truly say his job is driving change.
“I work in the Technology Innovation group,” says Frye, a senior power utilization engineer in Distributed Energy Resources and an expert in electric vehicle transportation. “What we’re doing is working toward an integrated power system: one that is flexible, resilient and connected, so we can optimize how we produce energy, deliver it and help customers use it as efficiently as possible.”
Evolving the Es
As the marketplace evolves, TVA will be called upon to do other things besides just generate electricity. With the growth of electric vehicles and renewable energy—especially residential and commercial solar generation—TVA will have an unprecedented opportunity to become the trusted energy partner of Tennessee Valley power consumers, helping them use energy in new ways.
Frye is a Chattanooga native who has an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering and a graduate degree in power systems engineering. His father worked at TVA for almost 40 years, finishing his career as the general manager of Customer Delivery in the Southeast region.
“We grew up knowing about TVA,” Frye says. “I always understood what they did, but it wasn’t until I started working at TVA that I understood why they did it—the mission of service. I see that what I’m doing in research can really be the evolution of the TVA mission.”
Everyone has access to energy now, Frye says, so his group Is working to evolve it in the best possible way. “It touches all three Es: how we use energy; how we tie to local businesses and save money, helping economic development; and how we do it in a way that impacts the environment less.”
Plugging into the Future
Frye was a key player in the launch of an electric car sharing service in Chattanooga where you can now rent an electric car by the hour or by the day from your cell phone.
“Over 25 percent of all energy consumed in the U.S. is used for transportation; either moving us or our stuff, and it is also the single largest source of pollution because it is almost exclusively through burning fossil fuels,” he explains. “Electrification of transportation can really change the energy equation in the U.S., help improve the environment, and attract jobs and investment to our communities. I’m proud of working on electric transportation initiatives. In the research world, nothing’s promised. You do your best and work on things that matter the most.
“In the Chattanooga electric car sharing fleet, there are stickers on the cars with names, and a couple of the people on the project have cars named after us,” he added. “So one of them says, ‘Hello, my name is Drew.’”
Frye’s group studies the newest technologies in the power industry, including smart thermostats, better batteries and new ways to generate energy efficiently.
“My group is working toward a world where no matter what goes on, no matter how people use energy, TVA understands, sees what’s going on and operates the power system efficiently—this will ensure all consumers get the best deal possible,” he says. “That includes Local Power Companies—how they operate their systems. I’ve probably worked with 20 LPCs in the past few years, installing electric vehicle charging stations, testing plug-in electric bucket trucks with them—partnering on a lot of different things. Outside of EVs, I’ve worked on projects with efficient home construction, smart thermostats, solar power, efficient water heaters for schools and more.”
What Lies Ahead for TVA?
“TVA will continue to make lives better, just in new ways,“ he says “I hope we’re doing a lot more with EVs because that means more people are buying them, more manufacturers are making them—it can be a big part of the evolution of how people use energy in the future.”
Moreover, the delivery dynamic will change. “People will also be making their own electricity, storing it and using it more efficiently,” he explains. “Our role in educating people will be very important: providing tools to help people understand energy better, like sensors that tell you how much you’re using at home and where, and give you the ability to control how much you use and when.”
Frye sees a future in which some things change, but the core mission of TVA stays the same.
“The TVA mission is to make life better for the people of the Valley.” Frye says. “Are we making their lives better if we help them use energy more efficiently? Yes. It’s an evolution of the TVA business. One part may shrink but another part will pick up the slack. If you’re always focused on helping people and making life better, we’ll never run out of work. I’m excited to be a part of that evolution and to see how TVA will make life better for my three-year-old daughter when she’s grown.”
Named the No. 2 Employer
In the State of Tennessee on the Forbes' list of America's Best Employers
2020 Diversity Impact AwardsTM Top 10
Enterprise-Wide ERG Award by Association of ERGs & Councils
Named a 2020 Leading Disability Employer
By the National Organization on Disability
Veterans make up nearly 20% of the workforce
Top 10 Military Friendly® Employer
National recognition
Military Spouse Friendly® Employer
National recognition
Safety: Top Decile
In recorded injury rate
Safety: Top Quartile
In serious injury rate
Inclusive Culture
At TVA, we recognize now more than ever that inclusion and diversity are integral to our mission of serving the people of the Valley to make life better.
TVA values an inclusive culture, founded on respect and compassion for everyone. This year we focused on the TVA Mission of Service and heard directly from our employees on how this translates to making everyone feel a part of the TVA family
TVA achieved national recognition for the fifth consecutive year as a “Top 10 Employer” for its support of U.S. military veterans in the workforce. We are proud that veterans comprise nearly 20% of our workforce and each adds strength and value to the entire organization.
TVA was recognized as a 2020 Leading Disability Employer for the second consecutive year. TVA prides itself on creating an accessible and inclusive space for those with disabilities and prioritized that initiative by starting ABLED, the employee resource group for Awareness Benefitting Leadership and Employees about Disabilities in 2015
TVA’s employee resource groups received a 2020 Diversity Impact Award from the Association of ERGs & Councils. Since 2014, our ERGs have helped advance meaningful understanding of and actions on diversity with inclusion throughout the enterprise and the communities we serve.
TVA achieved recognition on the Forbes list of America’s Best Employers for 2020 – ranking as the No. 2 employer in the state of Tennessee.
Safety: Our Employees Deliver Best Year Yet
Safety is one of TVA’s core values, and it’s an area where we ranked among the best in the industry in FY 2020 – top decile in recordable injuries and top decile in serious injuries. TVA’s focus on reducing serious injuries and strengthening line engagement have led to TVA’s strong safety performance in the last year.
Back in early 2020, Power Operations implemented the use of safety blitzes – a safety walkdown by employees from other sites – starting at Cumberland Fossil Plant in Tennessee. This effort proved so successful these visits are now conducted routinely during the first week of outages across the Power Operations fleet.
In Kentucky, TVA’s Shawnee Fossil Plant significantly improved worker safety by assembling a proactive learning team centered on improving how employees report near miss incidents, which helps trend the level of safety risk. In addition, our hydro fleet is piloting a new process at Kentucky Hydro Plant to improve safety communication between site personnel and contractors.
Our nuclear fleet has used observations to identify potential lack of Human Performance tool usage, which helps avoid potential serious safety events at our plants, such as Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama.
In our gas fleet, including Ackerman Combined Cycle Plant in Mississippi, we’ve improved our safety suggestions process, which has contributed to excellent safety performance in Gas Operations with zero recordable injuries in FY 2020.
Operating across the TVA territory, our Transmission organization has focused on more detailed pre-job briefs to ensure employees understand the potential risks associated with their tasks. Generation Construction and Fleet Services has performed numerous assessments of our contract workforce and addressed problem areas, such as rigging plans, to improve overall safety performance with our contract partners.
Union Partnerships
TVA’s employees and contract partners are represented by 17 labor unions. Our partnerships with these unions go back more than 80 years and form the backbone of TVA and our ability to serve the people of the Tennessee Valley. This year, to ensure continued low-cost, reliable energy to residents across the Valley:
TVA and the Trades and Labor Council for Annual Employees announced a 10-year extension on their agreement.
TVA and North America’s Building Trades Unions announced a 10-year extension of their Project Labor Agreement.
Code of Excellence
In 2018, TVA and seven annual councils, along with the Teamsters Union, began our Code of Excellence partnership with a shared commitment to Safety, Professionalism, Accountability, Relationship and Quality.
Union-led labor management panel partnered to reduce grievances by more than 200% since 2018.
FY 2020 has seen the highest craft employee engagement rate in TVA recorded history.
Internal Programs
We pride ourselves on the enrichment of our employees through programs and trainings offered throughout the year.
TVA invests in employees through training plans and performance improvement. Our approach to development consists of 70% on the job experience, 20% informal learning and 10% formal training.
TVA established the TVA Employee Relief Fund as a response to the pandemic and increased natural disasters in our region. To date, we have invested $36,000, which has assisted 12 employees whose lives were adversely affected by COVID-19 and tornadoes.
Guide to Using TVA’s Annual Report and Form 10-K
This Annual Report is intended to provide highlighted information of interest about TVA's business and operations during its fiscal year ended September 30, 2020. This Annual Report should be read in conjunction with TVA’s Form 10-K Annual Report for the year ended September 30, 2020. The Form 10-K provides additional financial, operational and descriptive information, including TVA’s financial statements. The Form 10-K also provides important information about various risks to which TVA is exposed in the course of its operations, which are important to consider before investing in any TVA securities. The 2020 TVA Annual Report and 2020 Form 10-K do not contain all information about TVA securities that is important for making investment decisions. Please refer to the appropriate Offering Circular, and any relevant supplements, for detailed information about TVA securities. TVA’s Form 10-K can be found at www.tva.com/investors.
TVA Investor Relations
Click here to visit the Investor Relations Homepage.
Click here to view TVA's SEC Financial Reports.
Forward-looking statements and certain factors that may affect our business
We have included in this letter and 2020 Annual Report “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Exchange Act relating to our operations, results of operations and other matters that are based on our current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections. Words such as “will,” “plan,” “believe” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in these forward-looking statements. Risks, uncertainties and other factors that might cause such differences, some of which could be material, include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the sections entitled “Risk Factors.” Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this letter and 2020 Annual Report or as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update them.