MESSAGE FROM THE DEPUTY INSPECTOR GENERAL PERFORMING THE DUTIES OF INSPECTOR GENERAL JILL MATTHEWS
Iam pleased to present our report or the period April 1, 2019, to September 30, 2019. Our independent, professional, and dedicated staff are focused on identifying potential risks to the Tennessee Valley Authority?s (TVA) ability to achieve its mission of providing reliable power at the lowest feasible rates, environmental stewardship, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley.
In this semiannual period, our audit, evaluation, and investigative activities identified more than $13.7 million in questioned costs, recoveries, and savings, and shared opportunities for TVA to improve its programs and operations. Below are highlights of our work this period.
- A contract compliance audit identified overbillings of$46,828, and the use of fixed price payment terms caused TVA to pay at least $11.5 million more than it would have if the contract?s cost reimbursable payment terms had been used for those projects.
- An audit of executive travel found several instances where TVA executives did not comply with the Federal Travel Regulation and/or TVA travel policies.
- In a review of the TVA transmission system?s internet security, Information Technology (IT) Audits identified vulnerabilities that increase TVA?s risk of cyberattacks, a gap in its monitoring system, and device configuration issues. TVA took immediate action to mitigate the vulnerabilities.
- Evaluations of coal and gas plant emergency preparedness and response identified emergency plans that contained inaccurate information and were not reviewed on a timely basis. In addition, some systems necessary for execution of the plans were not available or not functional.
- An evaluation of the design change process in coal operations found the design change process was not always followed resulting in outdated official drawings.
- Organizational effectiveness evaluations of two Hydro generation regions, one fossil plant, nuclear security, Transmission Operations, Reliability and SCADA,1 and IT Corporate Solutions identified strengths as well as risks that could impact the ability of the groups to achieve their mission.
- A contractor with subject matter expertise reviewed groundwater monitoring activities at the Kingston Fossil Plant Peninsula Disposal Unit and opined that monitoring activities performed there are in adherence with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation guidelines. Additionally, the contractor stated the work performed appears to be of high quality and does not likely result in any discrepancies for the program.
- Investigative results included sentencing of a former employee in a theft case, a guilty plea in a temporary living allowance case, recovery of more than $560,000, and identification of more than $1.5 million in other monetary loss.
In August 2019, William B. Kilbride of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was sworn in as the newest member of the TVA Board. We welcome Director Kilbride and look forward to a productive working relationship with him.
We share a common goal with the TVA Board, the Chief Executive Officer, and TVA employees; we want TVA to succeed for the betterment of the Tennessee Valley. We are committed to continuing to shine a light on potential risks so that TVA Board members and management can make changes to mitigate those risks and better serve the people of the Tennessee Valley.The acronym, SCADA, is defined as Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition.