Avista starts regional electrification program following approval from Washington regulators

Avista’s Transportation Electrification Plan (TE Plan) was approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission this week, paving the way for a regional foundation for public, workplace, and fleet charging infrastructure, fleet electrification, new incentives, and grid optimization efforts.

The new plan will also include support for low-income and underserved community programs to bolster electrification throughout the state. It will also aid business customers through consulting services, new commercial electric vehicle rates, and electric forklift incentives. Lower transportation costs are one of the goals, but the plan should also bring environmental benefits and an opportunity to boost electric load growth while maintaining affordable electricity rates.

“Avista’s electric transportation offerings represent a positive outcome for our customers and the company,” Rendall Farley, electric transportation manager at Avista, said. “For example, you can drive a passenger EV fueled by Avista’s clean electricity for less than $1 per gallon equivalent with zero tailpipe emissions, reducing total CO2 emissions by 80%, and providing the utility with beneficial off-peak load that can help keep electricity rates affordable for everyone in the long run.”

Avista Utilities, a division of Avista Corp., handles production, transmission, and distribution of energy for 400,000 customers in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon, as well as 367,000 natural gas customers. Its efforts are based on pilots undertaken in 2016. It emphasizes actions to be taken by 2025. As part of its new push, Avista will stress charging EVs when renewable resources such as solar and wind are most abundant and charging vehicles parked at work during the day and at home at night.