Yeah, I'm not sure what it is about the TVA -- feels almost like DARPA in a way. Something about the staffing and organization has led to a model utility. They're not without minor scandal occasionally but given the amount of political power they wield, maybe it's the distinction that TVA is government-owned and NextERA (who runs FPL) and Southern Company are both for-profit corporations?

Apolitical civil service government organizations are good at sustained operations and incremental growth/change. They are bad at rapid change. The controls they have are reasonably effective at preventing the type of corruption that you see.

The coal/rail/electric supply chain is a breeding ground for all sorts of shenanigans for all sorts of people. Plenty of drunken uncles have bullshit jobs in the utility and rail space. That culture permeates into new projects as well.

In the Federal space, that kind of crap doesn't fly for long.

TVA is a federal project, not a state regulatory body.

You can also maybe extend that further to the people behind the decisions to make something private or public. If you're looking to commit crimes, you're probably going to have an easier time in the private sector.

Ha. Well maybe technically. In the government sector, you may control what the definition of a crime is, or maybe you exempt yourself from the laws that apply to everyone else (looking at you, Congress).