TVA’s System Operations Center (SOC) has officially entered a new era of service.
On June 12, 2026, the new SOC in Georgetown, Tennessee, formally began full operations, with team members reporting to work at 5 a.m. for their first shift.
It marked a significant milestone for the enterprise, capping off years of planning, project management and construction, as well as transitioning the former SOC in Chattanooga to a backup and then a months-long decommissioning process.
Employees at the first shift of the new SOC in Georgetown (back row, from left): Tim Portwood, Jimmy Matthews, Jerod Brantley, Marcus Thompson, Tony Harbin, Lucas Lloyd; and (front row, from left) Andrew McKonkey, Bob Smith, Kristin Spearman, Tyler Jones and Josh Shultz.
On April 21, operators at the Chattanooga facility logged off the machines for the last time.
For decades, every decision made within those walls shaped the reliability of power for the Valley region. The operators who spent their careers there carried a responsibility that was both technical and deeply human – making the best call in the moment, even when it came with long nights and tense conversations.
“At TVA we are a team,” said Troy Mitchell, Transmission Operations Manager. “We are a lot of spokes on the same wheel. But this place is the hub.”
What held the team together wasn’t how long they worked side by side, but how quickly they learned to rely on one another.
Situational awareness – watching for when a teammate needed an assist and stepping in to help – became its own form of communication. They saw countless operators grow, move into new roles across the region and take on responsibilities shaped by the skills sharpened within those walls.
Employees at the final shift of the SOC in Chattanooga, from left: Nicholas Frysinger, Troy Mitchell, Mike Sullivan, Richard McCrory, Clayton Hahn, Jared Hooker, Yancey Williams, Misty Carvalho and Juan Rosario.
Before the team exited the Chattanooga site, Richard McCrory, Senior Balancing Authority Operator, said a few parting words.
“Every decision here mattered,” he said. “Every shift counted. This space was more than a control room. It was a home, a team and a constant in moments that determined the very best outcome. Today, we leave this room with pride, knowing the legacy built here will carry forward into the future.”
From April 21 to June 12, the Chattanooga site’s functions were performed in parallel between a legacy energy management system and a new system at the Regional Operations Center (ROC), also in Chattanooga, in order to show readiness for the move to Georgetown.
Updates to the legacy system, which served TVA for 27 years, have been fully discontinued.
TVA leaders at the new SOC’s opening shift, from left: Josh Shultz, Kristin Spearman, Greg Henrich, Jimmy Matthews, Shannon Brown and Joel Wise.
The ROC will now serve as the permanent backup location for the new SOC in Georgetown, and will remain the primary site for Regional Transmission Operations.
Employees in Transmission, IT, Security, Facilities, Compliance and beyond contributed to the successful transition to the new SOC, which was built to enhance resilience and modernize operational capabilities.
With operations now underway in the new facility, the SOC team will continue to ensure the enterprise delivers reliable, affordable energy to homes and businesses across seven states.
Because the work of operations does not end – it has only changed locations.
The old map board in the SOC in Chattanooga, which displayed TVA’s transmission system in red lines and colored lights.
First shift at the TVA System Operations Center