Image Credit: TVA
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
TVA’s CEO Jeff Lyash has quit the highest earning government position in the entire United States shortly after President Donald Trump’s return to office.
Making more than twenty times what the president makes, Lyash has been on the receiving end of criticism from Trump since 2020 during the President’s first term when he said that Lyash should have been earning no more than $500,000 annually.
Eleven days after Trump returned to the White House, Lyash announced his retirement.
Despite TVA’s board reducing Lyash’s incentive pay in 2024 the CEO’s compensation package still totaled $10.5 million the previous year.
While the federally owned electric utility corporation derives most of its revenue through the sale of electricity rather than receiving taxpayer dollars, Lyash’s compensation over the years since joining TVA in 2019 has been widely criticized.
The board of directors have defended his pay package saying that the TVA Act requires employees to receive similar compensation to that of others who work for utilities in the private sector.
In 2023, the board decided not to give Lyash a raise after Winter Storm Elliot in 2022 led to unexpected outages. During the storm, several of TVA’s fossil fuel plants crashed. In order to preserve the grid, the utility was forced to initiate rolling blackouts.
In a press release, Lyash said, “For the past six years, it’s been my privilege to serve with an experienced, talented team at TVA.”
Lyash will continue to lead the largest public utility in the United States until a successor is selected. He plans to ultimately step down by the end of September.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
