The Tennessee Valley Authority will be celebrating its 90th birthday May 18, and a few select individuals will be invited to the “party.”
In an effort to create outreach, learning opportunity and transparency to the energy system and its inner workings, eight dams are opening for public tours — many of them for the first time since the harrowing events of 9/11 in 2001.
Kentucky Dam will host visitors on June 2 and June 9. Raccoon Mountain is planned for June 23 and July 14. Norris Dam will be July 7 and August 11. Chickamauga Dam has picked July 21 and August 25. Fontana Dam is set for July 28. Wilson Dam is slated for August 4 and August 18. And Pickwick Dam will be available September 8.
But there is a catch.
Scott Brooks, public relations for TVA, notes the numbers for each tour will be “severely limited,” and the organization will be randomly drawing submitted names for the visits.
Demand, he says, is sensationally high for this “Built for the People” experience.
Brooks said a recent celebration in 2016 of Norris Dam’s 80th birthday brought out droves, so this immediate response to intimate tours is unsurprising.
The reason they are doing a limited drawing, he added, is because they still need to observe regulations and protocols for the nation’s top energy infrastructure. TVA also wants every entrant to have a “fair” and “equal” chance in the drawing.
Entry forms are available online at tva.com/90.
As for the history of TVA, Brooks said it’s strongly considered through each technological advancement in the region.
TVA manages a massive integrated system of 49 dams across the Tennessee River and its tributaries, including 29 hydro-electric dams.
