Senate Confirms Auto Executive to TVA Post

The Senate on Saturday confirmed President Reagan’s nomination of auto executive Marvin T. Runyon as designated chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Runyon, 63, will serve a nine-year term on the board of directors of the TVA, the troubled government corporation that provides hydroelectric power, nuclear power and other services to parts of seven Southern and border states.

The White House has designated Runyon as the next TVA chairman, succeeding Charles H. Dean Jr., who has been chairman since 1981. The chairman’s salary is $82,500.

Runyon has been president and chief executive officer of Nissan Motor Manufacturing Corp. U.S.A. since 1980 and is a former vice president of Ford Motor Co.

Sen. John B. Breaux (D-La.), the chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees TVA, cited Runyon’s lack of experience in the utility field in opposing the nomination.

“TVA should not be a place where people get on-the-job training,” Breaux said on the floor. “What you know should be at least as important as who you know.”