Within the next five months, President-elect Donald Trump could appoint a majority of the board for the Tennessee Valley Authority. The TVA is the nation's largest government-owned utility.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports three Democratic members of the board, including Chairman Joe Ritch, are leaving after the Republican-controlled Senate failed to confirm President Barack Obama's reappointment of the three directors last year.
Combined with two additional board vacancies this year, President-elect Trump could appoint a majority of the nine-member board as soon as May 18.
Trump has pledged to reform how government works and repeatedly says he will revive America's coal industry by changing some regulations on fossil fuels.
TVA serves more than 9 million people in Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.