Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, announced today the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) will add four Bell aircraft including two Bell 429 and the first two IFR configured Bell 407GXi aircraft to their fleet, bringing their total to six Bell aircraft.

TVA is a corporate agency of the United States that provides electricity for business customers and local power companies serving 10 million people in parts of seven southeastern states. TVA provides flood control, navigation and land management for the Tennessee River system and assists local power companies and state and local governments with economic development and job creation.

“We have been proud providers to Tennessee Valley Authority for more than 20 years now and we’re honored that they continue to choose aircraft to support their mission,” said Doug Schoen, managing director, North America. “Adding the Bell 407GXi will allow TVA to cost-effectively operate a single-engine IFR aircraft to support their region.”

TVA’s Aviation Unit has been operating aircraft since 1930’s and currently flies two Bell 407s, a Bell 429 and a Bell 206L4, as well as two Cessna Citation XLS+ jets manufactured by sister company, Textron Aviation.

Bell announced the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) for the Bell 407GXi in August 2019. The Bell 407GXi offers the lowest direct operating costs of any IFR-capable helicopter produced today.

“Helicopter’s are an investment that help us to improve safety and overall operational efficiency with minimal impact to the environment,” said David Hill, TVA general manager Aviation Services. “As the nation’s largest public power provider, with over 16,000 miles of transmission lines, helicopters help us to deliver low-cost, cleaner energy with 99.999 percent reliability to nearly 10 million people in the Tennessee Valley.”