TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY (TVA)

A Depression-era federal government project created in 1933 to control and harness the Tennessee River and its tributaries. The TVA became perhaps the best known of President Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" public works projects. The TVA currently operates 47 dams, 11 coal-fired and 2 nuclear power plants, and an extensive power transmission system. The Tennessee Valley Authority Power System encompasses the state of Tennessee and parts of the states of Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, and borders the Mississippi River on the west.