By AP
Knoxville, TN – The Tennessee Valley Authority is reporting a $167 million loss for the third quarter blamed on slumping electric sales and rising costs to clean up a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee.
The nation's largest public utility reported the loss Friday on $2.5 billion in revenue, compared to a $100 million gain for the same period a year ago. Power sales were down almost 8 and a half percent, mostly from large industrial customers.
TVA says it has raised its recognized expenses for the cleanup of the Kingston Fossil Plant coal ash spill last December to $933 million, and has actually spent $143 million so far. TVA Chief Financial Officer Kim Greene says an electric rate hike is likely.