Triumph and irony—The TVA

In the years since 1933, the Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) electric power operations have passed through three phases. The first, lasting from the early days until 1941, was characterized by the construction of multiple-purpose dams, a quest for power markets and consequent battle with private companies, and innovative experiments with utility rate structures. The gamble of very low rates paid off, and well served both the goal of raising the standard of living in the Tennessee Valley and of demonstrating the possibilities inherent in sliding-scale prices. The TVA's second phase, lasting roughly from 1941 to 1961, witnessed immense growth of its power program, in response to demands imposed on the system by external conditions. WorldWar II created an emergency situation, with the Tennessee Valley an important area because of the presence of such aluminum firms as Alcoa and Reynolds, whose production facilities were largely turned over to the fabrication of aluminum for warplanes. After the war, the demands of the Cold War prompted the Atomic Energy Commission, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and elsewhere, to expand its uranium plants, and with them its demands on the TVA. The Authority thus turned to coal, and ultimately to nuclear generation, which brought about criticism from environmentalists and successive problems involving the cost of fuel. The entire story demonstrates how an institution is inevitably a volitional actor in history, and a prisoner or victim of it, as the TVA has been in its third phase, which began in 1961.