For most power companies, economic development is a sensible, symbiotic relationship with new businesses: They do what they can to keep businesses going, and in return, they get demand for plenty of electrons flowing – according to the August edition of “Site Selection” magazine. It’s just good for the bottom line, which in turn keeps investors happy.

For TVA – a public power company – that relationship goes a little bit deeper. “TVA was founded in 1933 to bring jobs and investment to the Valley,” said John Bradley, senior vice president of economic development. “It’s ingrained in our mission of service, and it underscores much of what we do to make our region a great place to live and work. We don’t do it for investors – we do it for the people of the Valley.”

The company’s efforts seem to be paying off. For the 13th straight year, according to TVA, “Site Selection” has recognized TVA as one of the Top 10 Utilities in Economic Development.

In its September 2018 edition, Site Selection noted a recent Wall Street Journal article that cited two Valley cities – Huntsville and Clarksville, Tenn. – as among the nation’s hottest high-tech hot spots because of the combination of abundant clean and affordable power and low cost of living.

TVA’s economic development activities are manifold, and “Site Selection” took note of the breadth: a new solar farm in Memphis, new transmission lines and switching stations near the prospering Golden Triangle in Mississippi, a new Aerospace and Defense Target Market initiative, a newly-formed Composites Coalition and three ongoing powerhouse product development programs: the TVA Megasites Program, the InvestPrep Program and New Legacy Sites.

That’s a lot of work for the TVA Economic Development team, but it continues to pay big dividends. “We’re seeing continued success in 2018,” Bradley said. “In the first six months alone, we attracted or retained 42,000 jobs and secured $8.5 billion in capital investment through our economic development efforts with state and local partners throughout our seven-state service region.”

It’s gratifying, Bradley added, to see such tangible results.