The Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy has released a policy brief summarizing factors the federal government should consider while making its decision on whether or not to privatize the Tennessee Valley Authority.
In his proposed fiscal year 2014 budget, President Barack Obama suggested the federal government consider selling TVA, a corporation created and owned by the federal government since 1933 that provides electricity to nine million people in seven Southeastern states.
There are several factors that may affect the federal government’s final decision on the matter, including TVA’s ability to be self-sufficient and the absence of federal money in its programs since 1999. Mary English, Baker Center Fellow for Energy and Environmental Policy, summarizes these factors in the brief, titled “Should the Federal Government Sell TVA?”
“Congress created the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1933. Now, eighty years later, should it be dismantled? Doing so could have huge implications for the Tennessee Valley region—not only for its power supply, but also for its environmental quality and economic prosperity,” English said.
The brief can be found online (pdf).
The Baker Center is a nonpartisan institute devoted to education and research concerning public policy and civic engagement. For more information, visit the Baker Center website.
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C O N T A C T :
Nissa Dahlin-Brown (865-974-8681, nissa@utk.edu)