Office of the Inspector General Tennessee Valley Authority
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ĬÝñ¿ÝùÓ ¨ұÄŪĦÄĖ }ѢѢѢ }ĂÓÄĦÙÄĖ Office of the Inspector General TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY Semiannual Report October 1, 2014 - March 31, 2015 TVA POWER GENERatION SIX MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2014 (in millions of kilowatt hours) Natural gas and/or oil-fired Nonhydro • Coal - 62,525 9% renewable resources Hydroelectric <1% • Nuclear - 53,778 9% Coal 44% • Hydroelectric - 13,228 • Natural gas and/or oil-fired - 12,615 • Nonhydro renewable resources - 5* Nuclear 38% *Operation and maintenance issues reduced the available renewable generation during 2014, 2013, and 2012 from several facilities, including those utilizing methane, solar, and wind. 2 TVA OIG SEMiaNNUAL REPort TABLE OF CONTENTS Building a Better TVA...Together Message from the Inspector General. ....................................4 Special Feature ....................................................6 Noteworthy Undertakings ........................................... 14 Executive Overview ................................................ 18 Organization..................................................... 22 Audits ......................................................... 26 Evaluations ...................................................... 36 Investigations .................................................... 38 Legislation and Regulations .......................................... 44 Appendices ..................................................... 46 Appendix 1 – Index of Reporting Requirements Under the Inspector General Act.... 47 Appendix 2 – Audit and Evaluation Reports Issued ......................... 48 Appendix 3 – Audit and Evaluation Reports Issued with Questioned and Unsupported Costs and Recommendations for Better Use of Funds.... 50 Appendix 4 – Audit and Evaluation Reports with Corrective Actions Pending....... 52 Appendix 5 – Investigative Referrals and Prosecutive Results .................. 56 Appendix 6 – Highlights ............................................ 57 Appendix 7 – Government Contractor Audit Findings ....................... 58 Appendix 8 – Peer Reviews of the TVA OIG............................... 59 Glossary ........................................................ 60 Abbreviations and Acronyms ......................................... 62 TVA OIG SEMiaNNUAL REPort 3 MEssagE FROM THE INSPEctoR GENERAL I am pleased to present our report to Congress for the period October 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015. As discussed in our feature article, “Building a Better TVA… Together,” Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) continues to face challenges from an operational and financial perspective. In these challenging times, it is especially evident that to best serve the people of the Tennessee Valley, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) not only needs to provide an independent view of the issues facing TVA, but also work collaboratively with TVA management to identify optimal alternatives and the best solutions. Some may say balancing independence and collaboration is difficult. Our experience says it is not only possible, it is integral to helping TVA management and the TVA Board identify the best solutions to mitigate the risks and address the challenges that lie ahead. In this semiannual period, assumptions used to amend • A review of three major our audit, evaluation, and the contract’s pricing structure initiatives TVA conducted investigative activities identified and (2) potential overbillings of related to workforce nearly $11 million in funds that $2.9 million. productivity and operational could be put to better use, performance revealed TVA questioned costs, recoveries, • A review of TVA executive did not effectively monitor savings and penalties as well as hiring and dismissal costs found the initiatives to ensure opportunities for TVA to improve TVA incurred approximately planned benefits would be its programs and operations. $7.4 million in recruiting, hiring, achieved. In addition, the Some of the highlights include: and severance expenses for sustainability of the initiatives 20 executives who were hired was hindered by the lack of • A preaward audit that identified and also departed between employee engagement and $1.1 million of potential March 2005 and May 2014. resource constraints that made savings opportunities, related improvements unachievable primarily to overstated indirect • Audits of TVA’s controls over or unrealistic and damaged cost recovery rates, for TVA to protection of personally employee morale. negotiate. identifiable information (PII) and TVA’s compliance with the • An evaluation of TVA’s natural • Compliance audits of four Federal Information Security gas monitoring found while contracts which found (1) TVA Management Act of 2002 generally TVA effectively would pay up to an estimated (FISMA) identified opportunities monitors gas and pipeline $6 million more to a contractor to improve both areas. transportation costs and than would have been efficiently manages storage incurred due to unsupported capacity, our office identified 4 TVA OIG SEMiaNNUAL REPort opportunities for improvement Board will end; however, he will We appreciate the positive regarding the monitoring of continue to serve until someone relationship with TVA Board natural gas and transportation is appointed or until the end members and management. costs. of this session of Congress, In December 2014, two new whichever comes first. Director members, Virginia Lodge and • An investigation that led to Howorth has served the people Ronald Walter, joined the TVA the conviction of a TVA police of the Valley since July 2011 Board. We welcome them to TVA officer and five other law and was a member of four and look forward to working with enforcement agents involved in committees during his tenure. them toward building a better a high-stakes illegal gambling He served as Chair of the TVA together. operation, violating the Hobbs Customer and External Relations Act. Investigative activity also Committee and, most recently, resulted in $925.8 thousand in as Chair of the People and restitution, fees, and projected Performance Committee. The Richard W. Moore savings. OIG extends our appreciation Inspector General for his support of our office and In May 2015, Director Richard his contributions to TVA and the Howorth’s term on the TVA citizens of the Valley. TVA OIG SEMiaNNUAL REPort 5 SPECIAL FEATURE 6 TVA OIG SEMiaNNUAL REPort Special Feature: BUILdiNG A BEttER tva...togETHER TVA was created in 1933 to improve the quality of life in a seven-state region through the integrated management of the region’s resources. In carrying out its mission, TVA was instrumental in lifting the Tennessee Valley region out of the Great Depression by providing reliable and low-cost electricity, creating jobs, taming the river, and inventing techniques and products that helped replenish the lands. Nearly 30 years ago, the OIG was best solutions for any identified As described below, TVA has created at a time when TVA was issues. In this article, we are undertaken several strategic encountering challenges with providing an overview of TVA’s initiatives to help position its nuclear program. Through strategic initiatives and actions itself to achieve these strategic our audits, evaluations, and to address its challenges. Also, imperatives. investigations, the OIG provides we will discuss some of the an independent assessment challenges we see ahead for TVA Generation Fleet/ of TVA operations and makes and how our work contributes Environmental Performance recommendations with the intent to helping TVA navigate those TVA is making adjustments to to help TVA become better. It challenges. its generation fleet to address is often said that relationships future demand, environmental between an OIG and its agency TVA Strategic Initiatives regulations, aging infrastructure, can be challenging and, in some and Actions and economic considerations. cases, adversarial. A key factor TVA is also updating its 2011 in managing healthy working TVA has identified four key Integrated Resource Plan this relationships is a strong shared strategic imperatives: year. Some of the key actions vision for making the agency (1) maintain rates as low as underway include: (1) proceeding better as well as a commitment feasible, (2) live within its means, with emissions control projects at to stay in dialogue regardless of (3) manage its assets to meet Gallatin and Shawnee, differences on the issues. We are reliability expectations and (2) completion of natural gas- fortunate that our office and TVA provide a balanced portfolio, and fired facilities at Paradise and management have this shared (4) be responsible stewards of the Allen Fossil sites, (3) retirement of vision and a mutual respect for region’s natural resources. These coal-fired units, (4) completion of everyone’s role in building a imperatives are intended to help Watts Bar Unit 2, and better TVA. TVA become safer, better, faster, (5) incorporation of additional and leaner. renewable and clean energy As TVA addresses its challenges, it is more important than ever Rates that TVA and the OIG continue to balance our roles in helping People TVA achieve its mission. We Asset Portfolio Performance Stewardship will continue to provide our Excellence independent view of the effectiveness of TVA operations Debt and work with TVA to find the TVA OIG SEMiaNNUAL REPort 7 sources into its portfolio. These Maintaining Rates and Economic Development projects are important to TVA’s Managing Debt TVA continues to partner with continued focus to balance its In recent