All Reports

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the labor and labor markup rates included in a contract TVA has with a contractor. Our examination objective was to determine if the contract's labor and labor markup rates were fairly stated for the five-year, $100 million contract.In our opinion, the contract's labor markup rates were overstated. We estimated TVA could save $1.4 million by negotiating reductions to the labor markup rates to more accurately reflect the contractor's recent historical costs.

We performed an evaluation to determine whether demolition and decontamination activities at Widows Creek Fossil Plant (WCF) (1) adhered to safety principles found in the TVA Decommissioning, Deactivation, Decontamination, and Demolition (D4) Program Guide and (2) complied with selected safety criteria established in Brandenburg’s Health and Safety Plan (HASP) for WCF. We determined TVA and Brandenburg met selected safety requirements established in TVA’s D4 Program Guide and Brandenburg’s HASP for WCF.

The TVA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) meets a legal requirement to report to Congress on the office's results twice a year through its Semiannual Report to Congress (SAR). In this semiannual period, the TVA OIG audit, evaluation and investigative work identified approximately $64 million in funds TVA could put to better use, questioned costs, and recoveries and savings.

In keeping with its responsibilities under the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended, the OIG monitored the audit of TVA's fiscal year 2018 financial statements performed by Ernst and Young LLP (EY) to assure their work complied with Government Auditing Standards. Our review of EY's work disclosed no instance in which the firm did not comply in all material respects with Government Auditing Standards.

The Office of the Inspector General audited TVA’s controls in place to prevent, detect, and respond to ransomware incidents. In summary, we found TVA management generally has appropriate controls in place to prevent, detect, and respond to a ransomware incident. However, for one selected system, we found inappropriate administrative access. To strengthen access controls, TVA currently has an ongoing project to identify, track, and monitor administrative accounts, which is expected to be complete in 2020.

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) performed procedures that were requested and agreed to by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) management solely to assist management in determining the validity of the Winning Performance/Executive Annual Incentive Plan (WP) Measures for fiscal year (FY) ended September 30, 2018. The WP Measures data provided to the OIG and to which the agreed-upon procedures were applied is the responsibility of TVA management. In summary, procedures applied by the OIG found: • The FY2018 WP goals for the enterprise measures were properly approved.

At the request of the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA) Supply Chain, we examined the cost proposal submitted by a company for civil projects and coal combustion residual program management work at TVA's steam electric power plants. Our examination objective was to determine if the company's cost proposal was fairly stated for a planned <br> $25 million contract.In our opinion, the company's cost proposal was overstated.

In March 2018, we completed Audit 2017-15470, TVA’s Fixed-Wing Aircraft. As a result of the audit findings and public interest, we initiated an audit to determine if similar issues existed with TVA’s helicopter usage. Our audit objective was to determine whether TVA’s use of its helicopter fleet is consistent with TVA policies and any applicable federal laws and regulations.

The Office of the Inspector General conducted an organizational effectiveness review of Gallatin Fossil Plant (GAF) to identify operational and cultural strengths and risks that could impact GAF’s organizational effectiveness. Our report identified strengths related to (1) organizational alignment, (2) teamwork within departments, and (3) support of first-line supervisors. However, we also identified issues that could pose risks to GAF’s effectiveness and its continued ability to meet its responsibilities. These issues related to (1) ineffective leadership and (2) safety concerns.

We included an audit of loan obligations and receivables relating to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) EnergyRight® Solutions loan program in our annual audit plan after a review of TVA’s financial statements indicated a significant outstanding receivables balance.