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Revenue
 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue from Contract with Customer Revenue
Revenue from Sales of Electricity

TVA's revenue from contracts with customers is primarily derived from the generation and sale of electricity to its customers and is included in Revenue from sales of electricity on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Electricity is sold primarily to LPCs for distribution to their end-use customers. In addition, TVA sells electricity to directly served industrial companies, federal agencies, and others.
LPC sales
Approximately 92 percent of TVA's revenue from sales of electricity for the year ended September 30, 2021 was to LPCs, which then distribute the power to their customers using their own distribution systems. Power is delivered to each LPC at delivery points within the LPC's service territory. TVA recognizes revenue when the customer takes possession of the power at the delivery point. For power sales, the performance obligation to deliver power is satisfied in a series over time because the sales of electricity over the term of the customer contract are a series of distinct goods that are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer to the customer. TVA has no continuing performance obligations subsequent to delivery. Using the output method for revenue recognition provides a faithful depiction of the transfer of electricity as customers obtain control of the power and benefit from its use at delivery. Additionally, TVA has an enforceable right to consideration for energy delivered at any discrete point in time and will recognize revenue at an amount that reflects the consideration to which TVA is entitled for the energy delivered.

The amount of revenue is based on contractual prices approved by the TVA Board. Customers are invoiced monthly for power delivered as measured by meters located at the delivery points. The net transaction price is offset by certain credits available to customers that are known at the time of billing. Credits are designed to achieve objectives of the TVA Act and include items such as hydro preference credits for residential customers of LPCs, economic development credits to promote growth in the Tennessee Valley, wholesale bill credits to maintain long-term partnerships with LPCs, pandemic credits created to support LPCs and strengthen the public power response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and demand response credits allowing TVA to reduce industrial customer usage in periods of peak demand to balance system demand. Payments are typically due within approximately one month of invoice issuance.
 
Directly served customersDirectly served customers, including industrial customers, federal agencies, and other customers, take power for their own consumption. Similar to LPCs, power is delivered to a delivery point, at which time the customer takes possession and TVA recognizes revenue. For all power sales, the performance obligation to deliver power is satisfied in a series over time since the sales of electricity over the term of the customer contract are a series of distinct goods that are substantially the same and have the same pattern of transfer to the customer. TVA has no continuing performance obligations subsequent to delivery. Using the output method for revenue recognition provides a faithful depiction of the transfer of electricity as customers obtain control of the power and benefit from its use at delivery. Additionally, TVA has an enforceable right to consideration for energy delivered at any discrete point in time and will recognize revenue at an amount that reflects the consideration to which TVA is entitled for the energy delivered.

The amount of revenue is based on contractual prices approved by the TVA Board. Customers are invoiced monthly for power delivered as measured by meters located at the delivery points. The net transaction price is offset by certain credits available to customers that are known at the time of billing. Examples of credits include items such as economic development credits to promote growth in the Tennessee Valley, pandemic credits created to support directly served customers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and demand response credits allowing TVA to reduce industrial customer usage in periods of peak demand to balance system demand. Payments are typically due within approximately one month of invoice issuance.

Other Revenue

Other revenue consists primarily of wheeling and network transmission charges, sales of excess steam that is a by-product of power production, delivery point charges for interconnection points between TVA and the customer, and certain other ancillary goods or services.
Disaggregated Revenues

During 2021, revenues generated from TVA's electricity sales were $10.4 billion and accounted for virtually all of TVA's revenues. TVA's operating revenues by state for each of the last three years are detailed in the table below:
Operating Revenues By State
For the years ended September 30
(in millions)
 202120202019
Alabama
$1,508 $1,439 $1,593 
Georgia
254 249 270 
Kentucky
655 624 691 
Mississippi
984 941 1,063 
North Carolina
66 65 74 
Tennessee
6,841 6,740 7,419 
Virginia
42 42 45 
Subtotal10,350 10,100 11,155 
Off-system sales7 4 4 
Revenue from sales of electricity10,357 10,104 11,159 
Other revenue146 145 159 
Total operating revenues$10,503 $10,249 $11,318 

    TVA's operating revenues by customer type for each of the last three years are detailed in the table below:
Operating Revenues by Customer Type
For the years ended September 30
(in millions)
 202120202019
Revenue from sales of electricity  
Local power companies$9,534 $9,406 $10,351 
Industries directly served707 588 686 
Federal agencies and other116 110 122 
Revenue from sales of electricity10,357 10,104 11,159 
Other revenue146 145 159 
Total operating revenues$10,503 $10,249 $11,318 

    TVA and LPCs continue to work together to meet the changing needs of consumers around the Tennessee Valley. In 2019, the TVA Board approved a Partnership Agreement option that better aligns the length of LPC power contracts with TVA's long-term commitments. Under the partnership arrangement, the LPC power contracts automatically renew each year and have a 20-year termination notice. The partnership arrangements can be terminated under certain circumstances, including TVA's failure to limit rate increases as provided for in the agreements going forward. Participating LPCs receive benefits including a 3.1 percent wholesale bill credit in exchange for their long-term commitment, which enables TVA to recover its long-term financial commitments over a commensurate period. The total wholesale bill credits to LPCs participating in the long-term Partnership Agreement were $189 million, $163 million, and $14 million, respectively, for the years ended September 30, 2021, 2020, and 2019. In June 2020, TVA provided participating LPCs a flexibility option that allows them to locally generate or purchase up to approximately five percent of average total hourly energy sales over 2015 - 2019 in order to meet their individual customers' needs. As of November 12, 2021, 145 LPCs had signed the 20-year Partnership Agreement with TVA, and 74 LPCs had signed a Flexibility Agreement.

In August 2020, the TVA Board approved a Pandemic Relief Credit that was effective for 2021. The 2.5 percent monthly base rate credit, which totaled $221 million for 2021, applied to service provided to TVA's LPCs, their large commercial and industrial customers, and TVA directly served customers through September 2021. In August 2021, the TVA Board approved a 2.5 percent monthly base rate credit, the Pandemic Recovery Credit, which will be effective for 2022. The credit, expected to approximate $220 million, will also apply to service provided to TVA's LPCs, their large commercial and industrial customers, and TVA directly served customers. In November 2021, the TVA Board approved a 1.5 percent monthly base rate credit, which is an extension of the Pandemic Recovery Credit, to be effective for 2023. The 2023 credit is expected to approximate $133 million, and it will be administered in a manner similar to the Pandemic Recovery Credit.
    The number of LPCs by contract arrangement, the revenues derived from such arrangements for 2021, and the percentage those revenues comprised of TVA's total operating revenues for 2021, are summarized in the table below:
TVA Local Power Company Contracts
At or for the year ended September 30, 2021
Contract Arrangements(1)
Number of LPCs Revenue from Sales of Electricity to LPCs
(in millions)		Percentage of Total Operating Revenues
20-year termination notice145 $7,987 76.0 %
5-year termination notice8 1,547 14.7 %
Total153 $9,534 90.7 %
Note
(1) Ordinarily, the LPCs and TVA have the same termination notice period; however, in a contract with one of the LPCs with a five-year termination notice, TVA has a 10-year termination notice (which becomes a five-year termination notice if TVA loses its discretionary wholesale rate-setting authority). Certain LPCs have five-year termination notices or a shorter period if any act of Congress, court decision, or regulatory change requires or permits that election.
                                                 
    TVA's two largest LPCs — MLGW and Nashville Electric Service ("NES") — have contracts with a five-year and a 20-year termination notice period, respectively.  Sales to MLGW and NES accounted for nine percent and eight percent, respectively, of TVA's total operating revenues in 2021, 2020, and 2019. Certain LPCs, including MLGW, are evaluating options for future energy choices. In addition, in January 2021, four LPCs filed a complaint and petition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") asking FERC to order TVA to provide transmission and interconnection service to the LPCs or other suppliers that want to serve them. In August 2021, one of the LPCs notified FERC of its withdrawal from the complaint and petition. The remaining three LPCs account for three percent of TVA's total operating revenues for the year ended September 30, 2021. See Note 23 — Commitments and Contingencies — Legal Proceedings — Challenge to Anti-Cherrypicking Amendment for updates to this legal proceeding.

Contract Balances

    Contract assets represent an entity's right to consideration in exchange for goods and services that the entity has transferred to customers. TVA does not have any material contract assets at September 30, 2021.

    Contract liabilities represent an entity's obligations to transfer goods or services to customers for which the entity has received consideration (or an amount of consideration is due) from the customers. These contract liabilities are primarily related to upfront consideration received prior to the satisfaction of the performance obligation. See Economic Development Incentives below.

    Economic Development Incentives. Under certain economic development programs TVA offers incentives to existing and potential power customers in targeted business sectors that make multi-year commitments to invest in the Tennessee Valley. TVA records those incentives as reductions of revenue. Incentives recorded as a reduction to revenue were $315 million, $318 million, and $310 million for 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively. Incentives that have been approved but have not been paid are recorded in Accounts payable and accrued liabilities and Other long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. At September 30, 2021 and 2020, the outstanding unpaid incentives were $176 million and $172 million, respectively. Incentives that have been paid out may be subject to claw back if the customer fails to meet certain program requirements. In May 2020, TVA established flexibility provisions to support the continued operations and recovery of participating customers experiencing financial and operational hardships as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding economic downturn. These provisions were made available through the December 2020 application period, which provided flexibility to customers through 2021. The provisions did not have a material impact to TVA.