Data centers, energy bills and reliability: What customers should know
Customers have asked important questions about data centers, including how they could affect electric rates, reliability, and our communities. This page outlines Avista's approach, how existing customers are prioritized, and where decisions Avista might make about providing electric service to large data center projects stand today.
Serving large energy customers is not new for Avista. For over 137 years, we’ve served large energy users that contribute to our regional economy. As a regulated utility, we are required to evaluate any request from customers who want to connect to our system.
What’s different today is the size of some proposed data centers, and the questions communities have about their potential impacts.
What guides our decision-making
Data centers can contribute to our region's future when agreements are structured responsibly and provide lasting community benefits.
When new data center customers join our system, they can help share the costs of maintaining and operating the electric grid. Over time, that can help reduce upward pressure on rates for all customers. However, Avista will only support projects that benefit existing customers, maintain reliability, and provide a clear benefit to the communities we serve.
Current status: Data center application policy update
(Last updated September 2026)
Avista has paused the processing of large data center applications. The pause applies to projects that require significant new transmission or generation infrastructure.
We’re taking this step while conversations continue across our region about the role of data centers in our communities and energy future. Discussions include community feedback, moratoriums enacted by cities and counties in our service territory, and an active policy proceeding the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) has commenced concerning how regulated utilities will serve data centers in years to come.
The pause began in September 2026 and is expected to last at least 12 months while statutory guidelines are debated and established. During this time, we will be a participant with others in community, local government and state-level discussions to help shape the policies and the regulatory framework that may guide future development for large data centers.
Key issues under discussion include customer benefits, cost responsibility, rate design, system reliability, permitting, energy supply obligations, and tariff frameworks. Avista intends to work toward filing a tariff with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. Once policy proceeding concludes that would establish clear requirements and standards for evaluating significant data center requests.
A tariff is a set of rules approved by utility regulators that outline how utility service will be provided to a specific type of customer. These rules can include customer benefits, cost responsibilities, reliability standards and requirements to provide benefits to our existing customers and communities—all of which would be included in any future framework to serve future data centers.
We’re committed to transparency throughout this process and will continue providing updates and opportunities for public engagement as this work moves forward.
Our commitments to the communities we serve
As we evaluate data centers, our responsibility remains clear: provide benefits to existing customers, maintain reliability, support responsible growth, and remain transparent throughout the process.
Maintain service reliability for existing customers
Current customers are our priority.
We will not move forward with any project unless reliability can be maintained, and the costs associated with serving new data centers are not passed on to existing customers.
Our commitment
- We will not take power away from homes or businesses to serve a data center.
- New projects must demonstrate they can be integrated safely and reliably into our electric system.
- Any large data center customer must provide clear benefits to existing customers.
Prevent existing customers from paying additional costs
We believe data centers should pay the costs associated with serving their energy needs.
Our commitment
We will prevent existing customers from paying costs associated with serving new data centers by ensuring those customers cover the costs of:
- Studies and planning
- Equipment and system improvements
- New power supply resources
- Transmission upgrades
Support responsible growth and resource management
We believe economic development and customer benefits can go hand in hand when projects are planned responsibly. This includes responsible water use. We understand that water use is an important concern for communities. While decisions about water use are made by local water providers and environmental permitting agencies, we expect data centers to manage water responsibly and follow all applicable legal requirements.
Our commitment
We will only support projects that:
- Meet applicable regulatory and environmental requirements
- Provide long-term benefits to local communities
- Can be served without compromising reliability
- Use community resources responsibly
Maintain transparency and public engagement
We believe in providing clear and timely information as data center interest and energy requests evolve.
Our commitment
When permitted by law and commercial confidentiality requirements, we will continue to share information about:
- Our review process
- Regulatory and policy decisions
- Potential customer impacts
- Major developments related to large data center energy requests
Our role
Energy service is just one piece of the puzzle required to bring a large data center to fruition. As a regional energy provider, we are just one part of the project development process.
Our role is to determine whether we can safely and reliably provide the energy a customer is requesting.
| Avista evaluates | Other agencies may evaluate |
|---|---|
| Energy availability | Land use and zoning |
| Electric-system impacts | Local permits |
| Energy infrastructure needs | Water use and availability |
| Energy reliability | Environmental requirements |
| Energy-service costs | Other state and local requirements |
No single entity decides if a project will proceed—multiple reviews and approvals from a myriad of local and state-wide agencies, among others, are needed before a project may move forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Avista’s current Washington general rate case proposal, filed in January 2026, is not driven by data centers.
That request is driven by the need to recover increased operating and maintenance costs and to fund critical investments that impact cost pressures affecting our entire energy industry—not just Avista. These include, but are not limited to:
- Power generation and supply – Rising costs to produce and purchase electricity that meets regional clean energy requirements
- Infrastructure upgrades – Modernizing and securing the electric grid, expanding substation capacity, updating century-old hydroelectric facilities, and replacing aging natural gas pipe to continue to serve safe and reliable energy across our region
- Wildfire safety and prevention – Vegetation management, grid hardening, and advanced wildfire risk monitoring to improve resiliency throughout our service territory
Data centers can use a lot of electricity, but the amount varies by project.
Larger data centers can consume several hundred Megawatt, or even a Gigawatt. For context, our peak electric usage is just under 2,000 Megawatt, and our average use in an hour is 1,000 Megawatt, so these are significant potential additions.
We will only move forward with projects if our system is able to continue to provide safe, reliable service for our current customers.
Some projects can be supported without impacting current customer reliability with our existing infrastructure, and some will require new infrastructure to be installed.
Projects move forward only after studies and required upgrades are in place.
It depends on how they are designed. Some use water for cooling, while others use technologies that reduce or eliminate water use.
Avista does not manage water service or supply. Water decisions are handled by local water providers and regulatory agencies responsible for water resources.
Water use is an important concern of our communities—and of ours. Caring for our natural resources has always been an important part of how we operate. It’s why we will carefully evaluate potential large data center energy users and expect them to meet all local requirements and work with the appropriate agencies to manage their use responsibly.
Projects like data centers can only move forward if they receive approval from a multitude of agencies.
Depending on the project, the data center customer must involve other parties in their review and approval process. These may include regulators, local governments, water providers, and other agencies. Any project would need to meet the requirements of all necessary agencies before it could move forward.
Importantly, Avista is only able to address the energy portion of any project request.
We’re committed to sharing clear information as data centers express interest in our region. For updates and answers to common questions, check back here or contact us for more information.