Tennessee Valley Authority headquarters and TVA logoFive Tennessee Valley Authority board members today approved delegations of authority to enable TVA to do business while Congress considers new board nominees.
"We're making these authorizations and delegations today as contingencies, in case the board does not have a quorum in the coming weeks," Chairman Bill Sansom said.
Whenever five or more of the nine board seats are vacant, the board lacks a quorum.
Five presidential nominations for the nine-member board are pending - one since February and four since September - yet the Senate has not acted, even though Sen. Lamar Alexander serves on the committee responsible for handling them.
Now, three of the board's nine positions are vacant, and the terms of two other directors will end later this month.
The pending nominations for all five seats will expire then, as well.
Sansom said five authorizations and delegations approved by the board address some issues TVA could face without a quorum in the coming months.
Read more in tomorrow's Times Free Press.