Number two.
It's a cinch that virtually all of their capital assets -- dams, hydroelectric plants, distribution systems, etc. were originally paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Are those assets being amortized in their accounting? Were they ever? Or are they carried for "free"?
In any event, if the TVA is selling their power to public/private utilities who are re-selling it to the end-user, why is it not feasible for the public/private utilities to acquire these assets...and maintain their current rates?
Because, if they have to raise the rates, it suggests that the TVA was selling the power for less than it really cost. In which case, the below average rates you have enjoyed were subsidized by every taxpayer in the country (including yourselves).
Moreover, have you ever known of a federal government enterprise that was a.) managed effectively and b.) run efficiently? I say any federal government enterprise?
It strikes me that, if you can find it in the Yellow Pages, the government has no business doing it.