<BillNo> <Sponsor>
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 214
By Massey
SJR0214
004534
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A RESOLUTION to recognize Jeff Lyash, president and CEO of
the Tennessee Valley Authority on the occasion
of his retirement.
WHEREAS, it is appropriate that we should honor those citizens who have performed
with uncommon devotion and enthusiasm throughout their years of industry; and
WHEREAS, Jeff Lyash is one such estimable person, who has served with distinction for
six years as president and CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and will soon be
taking his much-deserved retirement, capping a more than forty-year career in the energy
industry; and
WHEREAS, appointed by the TVA Board of Directors in April 2019, Mr. Lyash led the
nation's largest public utility with a focus on building strong partnerships, including the region's
153 local power companies, and managing sustained regional growth and TVA's largest-ever
capital investment, which includes new power generation and enhancements to transmission
infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, during Mr. Lyash's tenure, TVA has maintained some of the lowest energy
costs and highest reliability in the nation; during the COVID-19 pandemic, TVA's financial
strength and stability allowed it to provide $1 billion in customer relief credits in 2020 and a $200
million rate reduction in 2021; and
WHEREAS, his leadership led TVA to work with regional partners to deliver the next
generation of American jobs, helping to create approximately $45.9 billion in capital investment
in the past five years alone, creating or retaining more than 326,000 jobs; and
WHEREAS, TVA's efforts under Mr. Lyash have helped to sustain regional growth at
approximately three times the national average; TVA invested over $22 billion in the past
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decade in its power system, including $4 billion in 2024 alone, and has more than 3,500
megawatts of new generation under construction or online; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Lyash played a pivotal role in the development of TVA's Long-term
Partnership Proposal, a twenty-year business agreement between TVA and its local power
company partners, with ninety-five percent of the region's 153 local power companies signing
onto the agreement; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Lyash oversaw the launch of TVA's $1.5 billion energy efficiency
initiative to assist customers and businesses in reducing their energy costs and using energy
wisely; this effort is expected to offset approximately thirty percent of future load growth over the
next decade; and
WHEREAS, an advocate and champion for nuclear energy, Jeff Lyash has positioned
TVA as a national leader in the development of advanced nuclear technologies; in 2019, TVA
became the nation's first utility to successfully obtain approval for an early site permit from the
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to potentially construct and operate a small modular
reactor (SMR) at its Clinch River site; and
WHEREAS, throughout his estimable career, Jeff Lyash has demonstrated the utmost
professionalism, ability, and integrity; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we ext end to Jeff Lyash our heartfelt wishes for a
happy and fulfilling retirement and every continued success in his future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
without House or Senate designation.