diff --git a/Lib/statistics.py b/Lib/statistics.py
index 518f5465446..4f5c1c164a2 100644
--- a/Lib/statistics.py
+++ b/Lib/statistics.py
@@ -601,7 +601,6 @@ def pvariance(data, mu=None):
     n = len(data)
     if n < 1:
         raise StatisticsError('pvariance requires at least one data point')
-    ss = _ss(data, mu)
     T, ss = _ss(data, mu)
     return _convert(ss/n, T)