The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is the principal supplier of power in the state, providing electricity to more than 100 cities and 50 rural cooperatives. In 1999, Tennessee's installed electrical generating capacity (utility and nonutility) was 18.4 million kW, virtually all of it publicly owned; electrical output totaled 94.4 billion kWh (99% public). There were two nuclear power facilities in operation as of 2001, the two-unit Sequoyah plant near Chattanooga and the single-unit Watts Bar facility between Chattanooga and Knoxville. In 2000 Tennessee's total per capita energy consumption was 352 million Btu (88.7 million kcal), ranking it 24th among the 50 states.
Between 1978 and 2000, declining demand for coal, conservationist opposition to surface mining, and other factors led to a drop in coal production from 10 million tons to 2.7 million tons. Reserves in 2001 totaled 24 million tons of recoverable coal. Surface mining, which had marred thousands of acres of land and which accounted for 59% of coal production in 1978, accounted for 61% in 1998. Surface mine operators are now required to reclaim mined land. Most of the coal mined in the state is used for producing electricity, although some is used for home heating.
Tennessee produced 1,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 2002; natural gas reserves were negligible.