No it has nothing to do whether you worked with TVA or not. They select strictly based on your resume. They establish a matrix based on the basic requirements of the position then grade each person. The requirements are weighted. If they intend on interviewing 50 people then top 50 scores win PROVIDED they meet all the requirements, in other words if there are 10 requirements and you score the highest score based on 9 of the requirements but you get zero on the tenth then you are screwed. Also people getting 1: A recommendation from the union, 2: Veterans, and : People living within 60 miles of the plant get extra points.
Fact is TVA is hurting for money. They had too many people working for them for the size of the utility, they lost Paducah which was a HUGE load for them, Electrical demand isn't exactly increasing. WBN2 is over budget and they have to spend millions on Fukushima mods at all their nukes. They have a new CEO who says there is too much fat and he's going to cut a billion out of it. That's a LOT of money. The plants are not as understaffed as they were 5 years ago and TVA got by then.
I've seen them do this before: The SGPO posting was in a previous fiscal year so it no longer applies. Post again. They are not the only ones who do that.