Public board meetings at the nation’s largest public power provider are scripted, according to multiple former members of the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors.
One former director said the scripted meetings are part of TVA management practices that limit how board members engage with the public.
While TVA is synonymous with public power, most of the discussion and deliberation of its board occurs at committee meetings, which are not open to the public. The script for public board meetings consists mostly of reports of what happened at committee meetings. The board often makes leadership decisions, including selecting the CEO, outside of public meetings.
The agency announced the board’s selection of Mike Skaggs, a former TVA chief operating officer, as interim CEO on Friday. Like other votes taken outside public meetings, TVA did not share how or whether each director voted.
Private companies that are publicly traded on stock exchanges hold private board meetings and often limit public statements from their board of directors to scripted remarks. While TVA operates similarly to a private company, it is a public agency owned by the federal government, and its directors are nominated by the U.S. president and confirmed by the Senate.