The 1960s

TVA continued the approach of integrated resource management during the 1960s, and this region saw unprecedented economic growth. Freight shipped on the Tennessee River broke records, even as flood control averted millions of dollars in damages. Farms and forests were in better shape than they had been in generations. Electric rates were among the nation’s lowest and stayed low as TVA brought larger, more efficient generating units into service.

While work continued in these mainstay areas, other TVA programs devoted to recreation, tributary area development, and fish and wildlife management gained recognition and importance.

Because challenges began to emerge with widespread coal use, and because energy demand was projected to keep expanding, TVA began to explore other methods for generating electricity. In 1966 in north Alabama, TVA undertook construction of Browns Ferry, its first nuclear power plant.