Jeannette Mills Named TVA Chief External Relations Officer

KNOXVILLE ― The Tennessee Valley Authority has named Jeannette Mills its newest Executive Vice President and Chief External Relations Officer, effective Feb. 3.

In her role, she will lead TVA’s efforts to further strengthen its relationships with local power companies, elected officials, community leaders, economic development agencies and other stakeholders in TVA’s seven-state service area.

“Jeannette brings more than 30 years of energy and utility experience to TVA, both from a customer-focused and regulatory perspective,” said Jeff Lyash, TVA President and Chief Executive Officer. “She has a passion for high-quality customer service and a solid track record for driving economic development.”

Most recently, Mills served as the Senior Vice President of Safety, Health, Environmental and Assurance for the U.S. region at National Grid Group, the United Kingdom’s largest investor-owned utility. Previously, she had served as a Commissioner on the Maryland Public Service Commission, providing regulatory oversight of gas, electric, telephone, water, sewage disposal, and transportation companies.

Mills spent 25 years of her career at Baltimore Gas and Electric, starting as an associate engineer and steadily progressing through positions of increasing responsibility to ultimately serve as Vice President, Customer Operations and Chief Customer Officer.

She holds a Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Masters of Business Administration from Loyola University.

“TVA’s history and reputation for serving the public is highly respected within the utility industry and I am excited to be a part of a team that cares so much about improving the lives of the people of the area,” said Mills.

Mills fills the role previously held by Van Wardlaw, who is retiring in January after nearly 40 years of TVA service.

“Van has been instrumental in building stronger relationships with our partners throughout the Tennessee Valley and his contributions to TVA’s continuing mission are deeply appreciated,” said Lyash.

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving nearly 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA receives no taxpayer funding, deriving virtually all of its revenues from sales of electricity. In addition to operating and investing its revenues in its electric system, TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.