Lisa Friedman, writing at the New York Times, has an article today about the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) decision to invest in more fossil fuel generation, putting the company at odds with President Joe Biden’s general climate change commitments. Overall, the article is fine, but it leaves readers with an incorrect impression of what kind of power Biden has over the TVA.

From the article:

It marks the second time in recent months that a federal entity has clashed with Mr. Biden’s climate agenda. The United States Postal Service is replacing 165,000 aging mail trucks with mostly gasoline-powered vehicles, despite the desire of the White House and leading Democrats to convert the fleet to all-electric vehicles.

It raises the question of whether President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s grand 20th-century experiment with electrification can adapt to a 21st-century climate crisis that requires a radical rethinking of energy production.

Like the Postal Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority is an independent organization governed by a board of directors made up of presidential appointees. And in both cases, the board is dominated by members nominated by former President Donald J. Trump, who frequently mocked climate science and was an ally of the fossil fuel industry.