The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned corporation in the United States created by congressional charter on May 18, 1933, to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression. TVA operates fossil fuel, nuclear, and hydropower plants, and also produces and sells electricity to local power companies and industrial customers. TVA is headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee and serves customers in seven southeastern states.