The stage is set for TVA to possibly raise electric rates again since the announcement today that the Tennessee Valley Authority lost $81 million in the three-month period ending June 30 due to a drop in electricity sales and higher operating costs.

In the same period a year ago, TVA lost only $12 million.

TVA said sales of electricity were lower this year than in 2013 due to a drop in industrial sales primarily because of the loss of TVA’s largest direct served customer, the United States Enrichment Corp., in Paducah, Ky., which shut down in May 2013.

Revenues from the sales of electricity in the quarter were still up 7 percent to more than $2.6 billion due to higher rates from increases in both TVA’s base rate and TVA’s monthly fuel cost adjustments in the past year. In the first nine months of the fiscal year, TVA revenues were up less than a half of a percent to nearly $7.9 billion.

Despite the drop in earnings this year, TVA said it made the strategic decision to use cash on hand and cash generated from operations to reduce long-term and short-term debt by $1.1 billion.