Editing Tennessee Valley Authority (section)

=== Increasing power demand ===
[[File:John Sevier Steam Plant - 1956.jpg|thumb|left|[[John Sevier Fossil Plant]] in [[Hawkins County, Tennessee]], {{circa|1956}}]]
By the end of World War II, TVA had completed a {{convert|650|mi|km|adj=on}} navigation channel the length of the Tennessee River and had become the nation's largest electricity supplier.{{sfn|Russell|1949|pp=23-24}} Even so, the demand for electricity was outstripping TVA's capacity to produce power from [[Hydroelectricity|hydroelectric]] dams, and so TVA began to construct additional coal-fired plants. Political interference kept TVA from securing additional federal appropriations to do so, so it sought the authority to issue bonds.{{sfn|Hargrove|Conkin|1983|pp=75-76}} Several of TVA's coal-fired plants, including [[Johnsonville Fossil Plant|Johnsonville]], [[Widows Creek Fossil Plant|Widows Creek]], [[Shawnee Fossil Plant|Shawnee]], [[Kingston Fossil Plant|Kingston]], [[Gallatin Fossil Plant|Gallatin]], and [[John Sevier Fossil Plant|John Sevier]], began operations in the 1950s.<ref name="slate">{{cite news |last=Gross |first=Daniel |date=October 2, 2015 |title=The Tennessee Valley Authority is closing coal plants, and that's huge |url=https://www.slate.com/business/2015/10/the-tennessee-valley-authority-is-closing-coal-plants-and-thats-huge. |work=Slate Magazine |access-date=January 7, 2019 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 1955 coal surpassed hydroelectricity as TVA's top generating source.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tva.com/About-TVA/Our-History/The-1950s |title=The 1950s |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2018 |website=tva.com |publisher=Tennessee Valley Authority |access-date=January 7, 2019 |archive-date=January 26, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126030936/https://www.tva.com/About-TVA/Our-History/The-1950s |url-status=live }}</ref> On August 6, 1959, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] signed into law an amendment to the TVA act, making the agency self-financing.<ref name="sentinel">{{cite news |date=May 11, 2008 |title=Snapshot of major events in TVA history |url=https://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/snapshot-of-major-events-in-tva-history-ep-411654928-359899091.html/?page=1 |work=The Knoxville News-Sentinel |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120194539/http://archive.knoxnews.com/news/local/snapshot-of-major-events-in-tva-history-ep-411654928-359899091.html/?page=1 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the 1950s, TVA's generating capacity nearly quadrupled.<ref name=clemnelson/>

The 1960s were years of further unprecedented economic growth in the Tennessee Valley. Capacity growth during this time slowed, but ultimately increased 56% between 1960 and 1970.<ref name=clemnelson/> To handle a projected future increase in electrical consumption, TVA began constructing 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines, the first of which was placed into service on May 15, 1965.<ref name=clemnelson/> Electric rates were among the nation's lowest during this time and stayed low as TVA brought larger, more efficient generating units into service. Plants completed during this time included [[Paradise Combined Cycle Plant#History|Paradise]], [[Bull Run Fossil Plant|Bull Run]], and [[Nickajack Dam]].<ref name=clemnelson/> Expecting the Valley's electric power needs to continue to grow, TVA began building [[nuclear power in the United States|nuclear power plant]]s in 1966 as a new source of power.<ref name="TVAtimeline">{{cite web |url=https://tva.com/75th/pdf/tva_timeline_by_year.pdf |title=TVA timeline by year |publisher=Tennessee Valley Authority |access-date=August 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100804060602/http://www.tva.com/75th/pdf/tva_timeline_by_year.pdf}}</ref> The following year, TVA began work on the construction of [[Tellico Dam]], which had been initially conceived in the 1930s and would later become its most controversial project.<ref name="medium">{{cite news |last=Morrissey |first=Connor |date=December 11, 2018 |title=The Tennessee Valley Authority: A Timeline of Controversy |url=https://medium.com/fall-2018-vt-intro-to-appalachian-studies/the-tennessee-valley-authority-a-timeline-of-controversy-b1a69df40a15 |work=[[Medium (website)|Medium]] |access-date=June 2, 2020 |archive-date=July 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726012057/https://medium.com/fall-2018-vt-intro-to-appalachian-studies/the-tennessee-valley-authority-a-timeline-of-controversy-b1a69df40a15 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Rawls |first1=Wendell Jr. |title=Forgotten People of the Tellico Dam Fight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/11/archives/forgotten-people-of-the-tellico-dam-fight-right-of-eminent-domain.html |access-date=April 18, 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=November 11, 1979 |page=1 |archive-date=July 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220726020225/https://www.nytimes.com/1979/11/11/archives/forgotten-people-of-the-tellico-dam-fight-right-of-eminent-domain.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Telling the Story of Tellico: It's Complicated |url=https://www.tva.com/about-tva/our-history/built-for-the-people/telling-the-story-of-tellico-it-s-complicated |website=Tennessee Valley Authority |access-date=July 24, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=June 16, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616105923/https://www.tva.com/about-tva/our-history/built-for-the-people/telling-the-story-of-tellico-it-s-complicated}}</ref>