Biographical profile

William R. (Bill) McCollum, Jr.

Chief Operating Officer

Bill McCollum was appointed Chief Operating Officer of the Tennessee Valley Authority in April 2007. He is responsible for the management of TVA’s power production, transmission, power trading, and resource management programs.

McCollum came to TVA from Duke Energy, where he served as Group Executive and Chief Regulated Generation Officer. Duke Energy owns and manages a large fleet of nuclear, fossil, and hydro generation plants.

McCollum was in charge of 14 fossil plants in four states, five gas-fired plants, and 32 hydroelectric plants with a combined capacity of 21,000 megawatts. He was also responsible for Engineering & Technical Services, Procurement, Regulated Bulk Power Marketing, and New Generation Construction.

McCollum joined Duke Power in 1974 and held numerous management positions, becoming Group Executive and Chief Regulated Generation Officer in 2006.

A native of Rossville, Georgia, McCollum graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering in 1973 and a master’s degree in nuclear engineering in 1974.

He received a master’s of business administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1983.

McCollum is a registered professional engineer in North Carolina and South Carolina. He has held a Nuclear Regulatory Commission-issued senior reactor operator license for Catawba Nuclear Station.

McCollum and his wife, Sylvia, have a daughter and a son.