Tennessee Valley Authority: Information on Lease-Leaseback and Other Financing Arrangements

摘要

Concern about the implications of the Tennessee Valley Authoritys (TVA) debt on its future competitiveness prompted Representative Richard Baker to ask GAO to determine TVAs planned and actual use of nontraditional financing arrangements (which, to date, has consisted primarily of lease leaseback arrangements), who is at risk under TVAs lease-leaseback arrangements, and whether TVAs accounting for the lease-leaseback arrangements complies with applicable standards and requirements. GAO is not recommending any actions by TVA, but does raise a matter for congressional consideration. The Congress may want to consider amending the TVA Act to clarify whether TVAs statutory debt cap should include alternative sources of financing that have the same impact on TVAs financial condition and competitive position as traditional debt financing. TVA generally agreed with our analysis but expressed concern regarding including alternative sources of financing in its debt cap. Because we believe current law does not clearly and unambiguously address whether the amount of the lease-leaseback arrangements should be counted against the debt cap, we continue to believe the Congress may want to consider revisiting this matter.