President Donald Trump has fired the Tennessee Valley Authority board chairman, the second member to be let go in a week.
According to an SEC filing, Trump dismissed Joe H. Ritch of Huntsville from the TVA on Monday. Former board member Michelle Moore was removed on March 27.
“With the departure of Mr. Ritch, Director William J. Renick assumes the role of Board Chair pursuant to the TVA Board's decision on February 13, 2025, nominating Mr. Renick as chair-elect of the TVA Board and stating that he will begin service if "Director Ritch otherwise [is] unable to serve as Chair,” the filing stated.
The board currently lacks a quorum, with just four members left. The board will be able to “assure continuity of operations of” the TVA, but it won’t have the authority to direct the nation’s largest public power provider “into new areas of activity, to embark on new programs, or to change [TVA's] existing direction,” according to the filing.
Trump has yet to give a reason for the recent firings. However, during his first term in 2020, he removed the board chairman over the TVA’s plans to replace American workers with lower-paid foreign laborers.
The TVA has been a source of controversy in north Alabama for its closing of the Bellefonte Plant in Jackson County and rolling blackouts during Christmas 2022.
SEE: Dale Strong, Mo Brooks blast TVA for north Alabama rolling blackouts; Cite green energy push, abandonment of Bellefonte nuclear plant for shortcomings
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