NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation's largest public utility on Monday promoted one of its top executives to CEO, putting Don Moul in charge of the Tennessee Valley Authority as President Donald Trump has cast renewed attention on the federal entity.
The utility announced that its board picked Moul as president and chief executive to replace Jeff Lyash, who said in January that he would retire no later than September. The move comes less than a week after Trump removed one of the utility's board members without indicating why. With the firing of Michelle Moore, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, the board currently has five members and four vacancies.
The board firing and CEO hiring come after Tennessee's two Republican U.S. senators urged officials to opt for “an interim CEO trusted by the president” before hiring someone long-term.
Moul has served as TVA's executive vice president and chief operating officer since June 2021. In a news release announcing his selection, TVA focused in part on Moul's leadership in the advancement of nuclear energy technologies and his experience as a licensed senior reactor operator. He starts in the new role on April 9.
“TVA needs a steady hand right now," Moul said in the news release. "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.”
Earlier this month, U.S. Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty wrote a guest column arguing that the TVA board was bogging down a project that seeks to build a small modular reactor with studies and hurdles.
Blackburn and Hagerty also said that hiring a CEO from within would forgo the chance to recruit a “top-quality leader” from outside the utility, which provides power to 10 million people across seven Southern states.
In part, advocates for nuclear energy have called for its expansion to help meet the demand from companies to power their artificial intelligence technologies, and do so without carbon emissions that speed up climate change.
Stephen Smith, executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, called the op-ed by Blackburn and Hagerty “reckless interference.” He said they don't understand the “risk of rushing nuclear technology before it’s ready for prime time both economically and safety-wise.”
Clean energy advocates have also criticized TVA's decision to replace several of its aging coal plants with another fossil fuel, natural gas.
Trump put TVA and the outgoing CEO Lyash on the hot seat in his first term.
In 2020, Trump fired the former TVA board chairman and another board member and drove TVA to reverse course on the hiring of foreign labor for information technology jobs.
He also called for Lyash’s replacement and the position’s pay to be capped at $500,000.
In response, TVA has noted that the CEO pay ranks in the bottom quartile of the power industry. Lyash’s total compensation topped $10.5 million in the 2024 budget year, including various pension and performance incentives worth millions of dollars. Additionally, the utility has stressed that it doesn’t receive federal taxpayer money and instead is funded by electricity customers.
A TVA spokesperson has said Lyash's retirement was not related to the administration or current politics and that Lyash had begun talking to TVA board members last fall about considering retirement.
FILE - Members of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors listen to members of the public during a meeting, May 8, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Duke shines even in a Final Four of all No. 1 seeds.
The early betting money went on the Blue Devils to win their semifinal Saturday against Houston, with the opening line at DraftKings Sportsbook quickly going from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 points.
Bettors see a Duke team led by sensational freshman Cooper Flagg that has won 15 games in a row, all but three by double digits.
“(Bettors will) continue to play Duke,” said Johnny Avello, DraftKings race and sports operations director. “Duke has been been brilliant through the ACC Tournament right into the big tournament here, and Flagg's playing great. So they'll just continue to put their money on them.”
BetMGM Sportsbook is seeing a similar surge in Blue Devils bets.
Duke by far is drawing the most money at BetMGM, taking in 40.5% of the handle to win the national championship. The next closest is Florida at 11.7%.
It's largely big bets on the Blue Devils because the total number of tickets is much closer, with Duke attracting 14.1% compared to 9.1% for the Gators. One person put $500,000 at that sportsbook on Duke at +350 to win the title.
That turned out to be a good price. Duke opened the season at +1100 at BetMGM to win the championship and now is at -110. Florida had an even more dramatic move, going from +4000 to +300.
The Gators are favored by 2 1/2 points at both sportsbooks to beat fellow Southeastern Conference member Auburn.
“The tournament has gone in the bettors’ favor with favorites consistently winning,” BetMGM trading manager Christian Cipollini said. "The sportsbook is cheering against a Duke-Florida final.”
On the women's side, bettors believe in championship coaches Dawn Staley of South Carolina and Geno Auriemma of UConn to get it done, even though the Huskies are the only No. 2 seed in either Final Four.
UConn, in fact, is attracting 30.3% of the handle and 17.3% of the ticket count to win the national championship, which would be the school's 12th but first in nine years. Paige Bueckers and the Huskies first have to get by UCLA in Friday's semifinal, but they are 8 1/2-point favorites at BetMGM and DraftKings.
The number opened at 10 1/2 points at DraftKings before it was bet down.
“Connecticut's always loaded,” Avello said. “Paige Bueckers is a special player. It will be tough to beat that team because he's an outstanding coach. He knows how to get it done. (Bettors) thought 10 1/2 points was a bit too many.”
South Carolina has won three national championships since 2017, including last year's title. The Gamecocks are in the Final Four for the fourth consecutive season.
They are behind only UConn at BetMGM in terms of money bet (23.9%) and number of tickets (14.8%).
South Carolina is favored by 4 1/2 points in the semifinals at both sportsbooks.
“BetMGM will be pulling for the dogs to cover and hopefully pull off an upset if not two," BetMGM sports trader Hannah Luther said. "Factoring in the futures markets, a Texas versus UCLA final is the best case scenario.”
DraftKings has lines up for the potential men's championship matchups. Duke would be favored by 4 1/2 points over Florida and 5 1/2 over Auburn. The Gators would be 1 1/2-point favorites over Houston, and the Cougars would be a 1-point favorite over Auburn.
Lines weren't available on the women's side, but UConn was a -160 favorite to win it all. South Carolina was +260.
This has been a difficult March Madness for sportsbooks because casual bettors tend to put their money on favorites.
“This hasn't been our greatest tournament revenue-wise,” Avello said. “But we've still got a couple of games to go. I can tell you, the players have a lot of bullets right now, so I expect a lot of action in this Final Four.”
Michigan State bettors had to be cursing when the Spartans beat Mississippi 73-70 in the Sweet 16. Ole Miss' Matthew Murrell made a 3-point — off the back iron, no less — at the buzzer that allowed those betting on the Rebels to cover the 3 1/2-point spread at BetMGM.
AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and AP technology coverage: https://apnews.com/technology
Florida players celebrate after their win against Texas Tech in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, March 29, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
