Newsroom Articles

Public Power Transforms Real Lives

The Father of Public Power

Boyish in appearance but hardheaded and knowledgeable, David Lilienthal built the TVA power system according to one guiding principle: affordable electricity for everyone in the TVA region.

Caution: Wild Waters

With the heavy rains this month, reservoirs levels are high and many dams in the TVA system are spilling water, creating potentially dangerous conditions for heedless recreational users.

Something Greater Than Ourselves

Regardless of which branch they serve, TVA's 100 employees who serve in the Active Guard Reserves are often activated to support wars, conflicts, humanitarian efforts and other situations requiring a military show of force.

What's the Point?

Sophisticated 3D images based on millions (and millions) of data points save time, money and injury risk for plants across the Valley.

A Shot in the Arm

TVA employee, public health program helped make once-common diseases a rarity in the region.

The Artist with a Camera

When TVA set out to transform life in the region, Krutch set out to capture the process on film. The result was high art.

The Topography of War

TVA’s mapping department mapped 750,000 square miles on far-away continents as part of war effort

Home-Front Defenders

As Uncle Sam called more men to serve in the military, TVA looked to women to protect critical infrastructure that powered the war effort.

Greening the Valley

In the 1930s, TVA turned farmers into experts on erosion control, putting agriculture in the region on the road to recovery.

Merry and Bright

Holiday lights have a fascinating history that ranges from the first candles pinned to tree boughs to the 3 million-bulb display at Bristol Motor Speedway.

How TVA Changed Lives

Forstner recalls how TVA spread prosperity to one of the poorest regions in the nation

Books for the People

Many rural residents borrowed their first books from a librarian employed by TVA.

The Enduring Legacy

Politically, TVA was one of the strangest hybrids in the “alphabet soup” of New Deal agencies. But FDR’s experiment in public power has stood the test of time.

Norris: An American Ideal

New urban theorists are hard at work designing the towns of the future, which integrate residential, commercial and retail areas. But Norris, Tennessee — built by TVA in the 1930s to house workers building the nearby dam — beat them all to the punch.

The Great Compromise

A deal hammered out between free-enterprise Republicans and public-power Democrats gave birth to TVA as we know it.

TVA and the Appalachian Trail

The storied Appalachian National Scenic Trail touches TVA property in two spots: Fontana Dam and Wautaga Dam.

The Great Electric Tent Show Revival and Jubilee

Crowds welcomed Bob Rice and his group of orators and country singers who shared the good news of TVA electricity in rural areas of the region.

The Great Experiment

In a poetic 1933 article for Fortune magazine, author James Agee introduced TVA to the world at large.

Powering World War II

The thought probably never crossed the minds of Axis war planners, but America’s World War II arsenal included a secret weapon: TVA