The chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) board of directors resigned on Feb. 24, TVA announced on Monday.
Chair Bill Renick, from Ashland, Mississippi, was appointed to the board in 2023, along with five other directors who were nominated by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Unlike three Biden nominees who were fired last year by President Donald Trump, Renick’s sudden departure seems to be voluntary. It was unexpected.
TVA did not offer more details about Renick’s resignation in an update to investors filed through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Renick as offered no explanation.
Renick’s term was set to expire in May 2027. He became chair of the TVA board after Trump fired the former chair, Joe Ritch of Alabama, in April 2025. His termination came the day after TVA announced the board had selected Don Moulas as the new CEO.
The new vacancy in the TVA board chair position continues what has been a chaotic year since Trump’s inauguration, with Trump dismissing three Board members, leaving TVA short of the necessary quorum to vote on new business.
TVA regained the needed numbers for a quorum in January, when four new members nominated by Trump (Arthur Graham, Mitch Graves, Jeff Hagood and Randall Jones) were confirmed by the U.S. Senate and sworn in. That left the TVA board with seven active members and two vacant seats.
Nashville businessman and GOP megadonor Lee Beaman had been nominated to fill the seat of Chair Joe Ritch, following Ritch’s termination by Trump last April, before the other two board members were fired as well. Beaman’s nomination was stalled as Trump’s other picks moved forward through the process. Democrats in the Senate grilled Beaman over his personal, political, and professional ties during a key committee meeting in December. After the committee postponed a vote that would have sent Beaman’s nomination to the full Senate, the year ended without a confirmation, as the other four were approved.
The newly appointed board, armed with a quorum, steered TVA in a direction aligned with the Trump administration’s energy policies during their first meeting in February, including voting unanimously to keep TVA’s two largest coal-fired power plants open beyond their planned retirements.
Trump has renominated Beaman, and if he is confirmed, that would bring the board back to seven members, leaving two vacancies following Renick’s resignation. If approved, Beaman’s term would expire in May 2030.
Steve Gill is editor and publisher of TriStar Daily.
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