KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ― Tennessee Valley Authority President and CEO Bill Johnson today announced the promotions of Joe Grimes to executive vice president, Generation and Chief Nuclear Officer, (bio, headshot) and Mike Skaggs to executive vice president, Operations (bio, headshot). The changes are effective Oct. 3, 2016.

Grimes will assume leadership of Power Operations along with Generation Construction, Projects and Services in addition to Nuclear, which he has led since joining TVA in 2013. Under Grimes’ leadership, the nuclear operating team has improved performance with his focus on safety, communications, regulatory standards and workforce development. He has more than 30 years of experience in utility operations, maintenance and engineering management, and has supported nuclear and fossil energy generating stations across the country.

As executive vice president, Operations, Skaggs will oversee Safety, Transmission and Power Supply, River Management, Natural Resources, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, TVA Police, and Continuous Improvement. He has over 25 years of leadership experience in the utility business, 22 of those years at TVA. Skaggs most recently led the team bringing online the first new nuclear generating unit of the 21^st Century at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant with a strong focus on safety, quality and reliability.

“In the spirit of continuous improvement, we continually evaluate our organizational structure to ensure it most efficiently and effectively supports our mission of serving the people of the Tennessee Valley,” said Johnson. “Naming Joe and Mike as leaders of these strategic business units enables us to provide strong leadership continuity, sustain our performance improvements and build on the progress we’ve made while keeping rates low and reliability high as the industry and consumer behaviors evolve.”

The Tennessee Valley Authority is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power distributors serving more than 9 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.