Tennessee Valley Authority

American  

noun

1. TVA.

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Tennessee Valley Authority Cultural  

1. A corporation created by the federal government in the Great Depression to promote the economic development of the Tennessee River and adjoining areas. The TVA, known as a builder of dams, is responsible for flood control, the generation of electric power, soil conservation, and other areas of economic development. The TVA was part of the New Deal.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Tennessee Valley Authority

These awards will be split equally between privately held Florida company Holtec International and a project overseen by the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA—a publicly owned utility that serves several states.

From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025

Only four of these are “private” in some sense; the vast majority are government utilities like our Tennessee Valley Authority.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025

The Tennessee Valley Authority just inked significant new contracts to expand its arrays of solar panels and batteries, and New Jersey passed a bill to curb limits on expanding community solar.

From Slate ● Feb. 6, 2024

On Jan. 17, as bitter cold swept across many of the seven states it serves, the Tennessee Valley Authority hit its highest peak electricity demand ever.

From New York Times ● Feb. 5, 2024

I’d been taught about the Tennessee Valley Authority in high-school history.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam