Washington: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public utility in the US providing electricity is ending a contract with a company that employed workers in India, following heavy criticism of the deal, media reports said today (Aug 5, 2004).

TVA said that it will finish work in September with Access Systems International Inc. of New York.

The company used 27 workers in India to convert decades-old engineering drawings of coal-fired power plants into a computer format that allowed design changes for upgrades.

A competitive bidding process led to Pinnacle Infotech Inc. of Houston landing the contract for the work, TVA contracts manager Frank Alford said.

Pinnacle, which is owned by a company in India, could receive up to $300,000 a year if TVA is pleased with its work, Alford said.

US Rep John J Duncan Jr, a Knoxville Republican, had taken TVA to task in February for using workers in India. Yesterday, he praised the new requirement in TVA contracts that specifies using only domestic workers.

"All Government agencies should make every effort to ensure work that can be done within America's borders stays here," Duncan said in a statement.

Calvin Underwood, president of TVA's Engineering Association, said he will protest the new contract. The work should be done by TVA employees or a company in TVA's seven-State service region, he said.