TVA pays staff bonuses worth $50 million

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. — The Tennessee Valley Authority shared the rewards of a successful year by awarding $50 million in bonuses to its rank-and-file employees.

Most of TVA’s 12,836 workers received the year-end payments handed out last week. The bonuses averaged $3,895 per employee and were 10 percent higher than last year.

The nation’s largest public utility set generation and reliability records with fewer employees during fiscal 2005. The agency met all of its performance targets except workplace accidents, which increased slightly.

TVA President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Kilgore said those efforts saved TVA about $220 million during the year, helping offset rising fuel costs.

“We need to enjoy the 2005 success, but then concentrate on additional challenges expected in 2006,” he said. “The bar will be raised by the changing environment in which we operate, and we must work even smarter to meet the new challenges.”

TVA also traditionally provides executive bonuses to its top managers. TVA spokesman John Moulton said those bonuses will be announced later.

A year ago, TVA gave $45 million in bonus checks to its rank-and-file employees and another $11.5 million in performance pay to its top 138 managers.