This story is exclusive to subscribers.

TVA board selects Mitch Graves and Jeff Hagood as interim, future chair

TVA / The TVA board of directors selected Mitch Graves of Memphis, left, to serve as interim chair. The board now has six members, including four nominated by President Donald Trump, who are pictured after they were sworn in. TVA / The TVA board of directors selected Mitch Graves of Memphis, left, to serve as interim chair. The board now has six members, including four nominated by President Donald Trump, who are pictured after they were sworn in.

By Daniel Dassow March 5, 2026 4 min read

The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors chose Mitch Graves of Memphis as interim chair and Jeff Hagood of Knoxville as chair-elect Feb. 27, although the federal utility did not announce the change until Thursday.

TVA is not required to file updates to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission until four business days after the decision is made. The agency waited the same period of time before announcing Monday that Bill Renick, the former chair, had resigned Feb. 24.

The replacement of Renick puts the governing panel of the nation’s largest government-owned power provider under more direct control of members nominated by President Donald Trump. Of the six panel members, four were nominated by Trump and sworn onto the board in January after the U.S. Senate confirmed them.

Graves assumed the role of chair Feb. 27 and will stay in the role through April 1, 2027, according to the TVA filing Thursday. Hagood will then become chair for a term lasting until May 18, 2029, when both his and Graves’s terms on the board expire.