A colder fall generated more cold cash for America’s biggest government utility, boosting power sales by a strong 7 percent in the final three months of 2016 compared with the milder fall a year-ago period.
The Tennessee Valley Authority said today it earned $102 million for the three months ended December 31, 2016, compared with a net loss of $37 million in the same period a year earlier. The income and sales gains in TVA’s first fiscal quarter positioned TVA for an even better fiscal year than the record high net income reached in fiscal 2016, although milder temperatures this month could offset some of the comparative advantage over last year in the winter period.
The number of heating degree days – a key measure for how weather affects electricity usage – was 29 percent higher last fall than the previous year due to more normal weather across TVA’s 7-state region. Combined with higher fuel cost adjustments and a 2 percent base rate increase last October, overall operating revenues for TVA grew by 12 percent, or $266 million, over the previous year to more than $2.5 billion.
Last year, the Valley experienced some of the mildest temperatures in a half century during October, November and December.
Total operating expenses for TVA were up by $65 million, or about 3 percent, from the same period in 2016. The higher operating expenses were mainly driven by fuel costs that were about $88 million higher.