From the Chattanoogan: The Tennessee Valley Authority reported Tuesday that it earned $6 billion in total operating revenues on 76 billion kilowat
From the Chattanoogan: The Tennessee Valley Authority reported Tuesday that it earned $6 billion in total operating revenues on 76 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity sales for the six months ended March 31.
Total operating revenues increased 9 percent over the same period last year, primarily due to an increase in fuel cost recovery revenue, which was driven by higher fuel rates for the first half of the fiscal year. Sales of electricity decreased approximately 3 percent compared to the same period of the prior year, driven by overall milder weather during 2023 as compared to 2022.
Fuel and purchased power expense was $432 million higher in the first half of 2023 over the same period of the prior year, primarily due to higher prices.
“I’m proud of our employees who work every day to keep our customer’s energy costs low despite the extreme temperatures in late December, which drove record demand,” Jeff Lyash, TVA president and CEO, said. “We are committed to providing affordable, reliable, resilient and clean energy – at all times. It is what our customers expect and deserve.
“We have one of the nation’s cleanest, most diverse generation portfolios – including nuclear, solar, gas, and hydro. This diverse generation is key to helping protect our region’s energy security, insulating our customers from fuel volatility, and allowing us to keep our base rate unchanged for four years in a row.”
In the first six months of fiscal year 2023, 59 percent of TVA’s power supply was carbon-free – coming from nuclear, hydroelectric and renewables.
Operating and maintenance expense increased by $103 million over the same period last year, driven primarily by costs related to TVA’s New Nuclear Program and increased labor costs. Depreciation and amortization expense increased $61 million primarily due to an increase in amortization expense of decommissioning costs recovered in rates and TVA’s decision to retire the two remaining units at Cumberland.
Interest expense was $3 million higher for the six months ended Mar. 31, 2023, with higher rates on short-term debt offset by lower interest on long-term debt. TVA’s net income was $149 million for the first half of fiscal year 2023, which was $71 million lower than the same period of the prior year, mainly due to higher operating expenses.
“TVA remains focused on keeping costs as low as feasible, which enables us to keep our region growing by providing affordable, reliable, resilient and clean electricity,” said TVA’s Chief Financial and Strategy Officer John Thomas. “We also continue to benefit from recent debt reduction, and low exposure to rising interest rates this year, which is helping us keep power prices stable.”
