The Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors on Monday selected Don Moul to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of the nation’s largest public power utility, effective April 9.
Mr. Moul is the fourth CEO of the historic agency, succeeding Jeff Lyash, who announced his intent to retire in January.
Officials said, "Mr. Moul brings more than 38 years of experience across all facets of power generation and operations with a proven track record of improving operational performance and teamwork. He is recognized across the industry as a strong, versatile leader."
Since June 2021, he has served as TVA’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, where he held primary responsibility for power generation, transmission, and power supply functions. Under his leadership, TVA is a national leader in driving advanced nuclear technologies forward. In addition, TVA twice set records for meeting all-time peak power demands during severe weather and consistently delivered the strongest safety performance years in TVA history, it was stated.
“Don is the right choice to lead TVA forward as we work to build an energy system to power the next generation of American jobs,” said Mr. Lyash, president and CEO of TVA. “Don is ready to be the hand guiding TVA in a time of rapid change and growth, and he will continue to propel TVA’s nuclear leadership. In his role as COO, he has led the development of next generation nuclear technologies and has a deep knowledge and appreciation for nuclear power – the most reliable power the world’s ever known.
“His extensive knowledge and experience make him one of the top leaders in the industry. Over the past several years, we have been intentional about developing and growing our leadership bench strength. We brought Don to TVA four years ago with succession planning in mind."
“Don’s vision, depth of industry knowledge and favorability among TVA employees position him well to unleash TVA’s potential from Day One, with little to no learning curve,” said Joe Ritch, TVA’s Board Chairman.
Mr. Moul has helped lead the effort to accelerate and drive a buildout of generation and infrastructure to meet an ever-growing demand for electricity across TVA’s seven-state region, now and in the future. Transitioning into the CEO role is a natural fit, it was stated.
“When you think about the strength of our economy, it's going to be determined by the strength of our energy and infrastructure. And I think TVA is leading that charge,” said Mr. Moul. “We're in a period of growth like we've not seen before, and, to meet that growth, we are making one of the largest capital investments in our history.
“I've had four years here. I've seen the competitive advantage that public power brings to our region – working in partnership with local power companies and direct serve customers to serve 10 million people across seven states. I am excited about this opportunity, and the transition is going to be seamless. TVA needs a steady hand right now. I will build on the momentum that Jeff and our team have created – making sure we continue to invest in new generation, strengthen our grid and enhance system reliability. As we look to the future, the growth and prosperity across our seven-state region depends on our ability to deliver affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy. We will accomplish this through continued excellence in operations, financial discipline, and a commitment to the fundamentals of our mission of service.”
Similar to Mr. Lyash, Mr. Moul has extensive nuclear experience and expertise, including serving as a licensed senior reactor operator at multiple nuclear stations across the U.S. At FirstEnergy, he served as president and Chief Nuclear Officer, leading the nuclear fleet to its best performance year in history in 2018. At NextEra, he helped transform the company’s nuclear culture, leading to fleet-wide operational efficiencies and more efficient work processes.
He was also appointed by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to serve on the Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council focused on nuclear innovation and driving continued investment to create a nuclear energy ecosystem for the future of Tennessee.
Officials said Mr. Moul, executive vice president and chief operating officer, "has over 38 years of experience in all areas of power generation and operations. He possesses a strong track record of enhancing operational performance and teamwork through a disciplined and collaborative leadership approach.
"With primary responsibility for TVA’s power generation, transmission, and power supply functions, Don serves in a key leadership role at TVA. With one of the nation’s most resilient, diverse generation portfolios, he will lead TVA’s industry-leading efforts to provide increasingly reliable, resilient and cleaner energy.
"Don oversees a number of other mission-critical areas of TVA’s business, including Integrated River System Management; Natural Resources; Environment and Sustainability; and Major Projects. Don’s responsibilities also include exploring the viability of deploying small modular reactor technology at TVA’s Clinch River Site.
"In his role, Don is focused on delivering high reliability, low cost, and operational excellence with safety as the highest priority. He is leading operationalizing TVA’s asset strategy and directing TVA’s state-of-the-art grid modernization to creating the energy system of the future that will be ideally positioned to meet emerging customer demands. In addition, Don oversees TVA’s coal, gas, and hydro fleet and the River Forecast Center, which balances the 49-dam, integrated river system to provide flood damage reduction, navigation, hydroelectric power, water quality, water supply, and recreation. Don also is responsible for efforts to protect historical, cultural, and environmental resources, as well as 293,000 acres of public land and 11,000 miles of shoreline.
"Throughout his career, Don has held a variety of leadership positions, primarily in nuclear divisions, with American Electric Power, Duquesne Light Company, FirstEnergy Corporation, GPU Nuclear Corporation and Public Service Electric & Gas.
"Before joining TVA in June 2021, Don was executive vice president and chief nuclear officer at NextEra Energy where he was responsible for the safe and reliable operation of NextEra’s nuclear fleet, which includes seven operating units at five plant sites. He also oversaw decommissioning activities at Duane Arnold Energy Center.
"From 2004 to 2019, Don served in a variety of leadership roles at FirstEnergy Corporation, including leading the nuclear and fossil generation, transmission and distribution, commodity operations and environmental compliance functions. Under his leadership, the First Energy nuclear fleet achieved its best-ever outage and total-cost performance, while maintaining exemplary INPO continuous monitoring ratings in 2018.
"Don also previously served as vice president for FirstEnergy Commodity Operations, focused on power production and retail supply in the PJM Markets. He also served as president of Ohio Edison and Penn Power – two of FirstEnergy’s operating companies.
"Don earned a Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. He also has been a senior reactor operator at multiple nuclear stations."