Washington utilities commission approves Avista’s rate cases

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved the partial electric and natural gas general rate cases filed by Avista in June.

“We are pleased with the Commission’s decision in this case as it supports Avista’s ongoing investments in the infrastructure that serves our customers without immediately impacting customer bills,” Avista President and CEO Dennis Vermillion said. “This is a constructive outcome that offers us the opportunity to continue to provide our customers with safe, reliable and affordable energy.”

The commission approved base revenue increases of $13.6 million for electric operations, which reflects $30.6 million of power supply reductions, and $8.1 million for natural gas operations. However, customers’ billed rates will not change as a result of this case, as, based on Avista’s proposal, the commission used certain Tax Customer Credits to fully offset for a two-year period the base revenue increases it approved for the company.

Also, the commission approved recovery of capital additions including investments in advanced metering infrastructure, wildfire resiliency, joining the Western Energy Imbalance Market, and other projects. Further, the commission approved the recovery for all capital investments included by Avista in this case, with the exception of certain Colstrip plant-related costs. The Colstrip power plant is located in Montana and consists of 2 active coal-fired generating units capable of producing up to 1,480 megawatts of electricity. Avista is one of six utility owners of the plant.

“The Company is disappointed not all of its expenses were approved for recovery at this time, and that the Commission did not agree with Avista’s share of investment in SmartBurn technology at the Colstrip Generating Facility, an investment we believe was prudent and in the best interest of our customers and the environment,” Vermillion said.

Avista is an energy company that provides electric service to 400,000 customers and natural gas to 367,000 customers in eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and parts of southern and eastern Oregon.

“We look forward to our next general rate case filing where we will have the opportunity to utilize recent legislation to further reduce the lag in cost recovery and keep us on a path towards earning our authorized returns in 2023,” Avista’s CEO said.