Washington - Rate Requests
Find information on Electric and Natural Gas tariffs, rate schedule, prices and rates history
- Residential Exchange Credit Adjustment Schedule 59 (September 2, 2022)
- Annual Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment (PGA) Schedules 149, 150, and 155 (September 2, 2022)
- WA Wildfire Expense Balancing Mechanism Schedule 88 (September 2, 2022)
- Electric Decoupling Annual Rate Adjustment Schedule 75 (May 27, 2022)
- Natural Gas Decoupling Annual Rate Adjustment Schedule 175 (May 27, 2022)
On June 28, 2002, Avista submitted a multiparty settlement agreement to its electric and natural gas general rate cases (originally filed on Jan. 21, 2022) to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission for its consideration. If approved, new rates would take effect in Dec. 2022 and Dec. 2023.
In addition to Avista, the parties to the electric and natural gas rate cases include the Staff of the UTC, the Public Counsel Unit of the Washington Attorney General’s Office (Public Counsel), the Alliance of Western Energy Consumers, the NW Energy Coalition, The Energy Project, Walmart, Sierra Club, and Small Business Utility Advocates. All parties, apart from Public Counsel, agreed on the terms of settlement of all issues in Avista’s general rate case.
All parties, apart from Public Counsel, agreed on the terms of settlement of all issues in Avista’s general rate case.
All requests to change energy prices will be reviewed by the Commission, who then sets rates. If approved, customers would see their energy bills change as follows:
| Effective in Dec. 2022 |
Effective in Dec. 2023 |
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| Electric |
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| Natural gas |
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Why is Avista requesting to change energy prices?
These requests are made to better align customer rates with Avista’s costs of providing service to our customers and to recover costs related to investments in infrastructure that serves our customers.
Part of the responsibility of providing an essential service is to make sure customers have energy when they need it. This means that we must continue to make important and necessary investments to the infrastructure that serves our customers such as replacing wood distribution poles and natural gas pipelines, taking steps to meet our clean electricity requirements and goals, making our system more resilient to the threat of wildfires, and upgrading customer-facing technology and substations, and much more.
Our rates are cost-based, meaning that the costs included in customer rates reflect the costs of the equipment when installed decades ago. When we replace or update old equipment with new equipment, it can cost many times more than when it was installed. This is a primary reason for our rate requests.
When would my bill change?
The Commission will decide when and if bills will change. If approved, new rates would take effect in Dec. 2022 and Dec. 2023.
We’ve requested a two-year plan, which would create a stay out period where Avista would not file a new general rate case for new rates to be effective prior to Dec. 2023.
Who decides if and how much my bill will change?
Avista is a regulated utility which means we cannot change energy rates on our own. The utility Commission sets the rates customers pay for the energy they use. After reviewing Avista’s request and costs, relevant data and listening to the public, the Commission will set rates it believes are reasonable and fair to customers and Avista.
Is executive pay included in my energy bill?
Yes, however this is not a driver of energy rates. Salaries and bonuses of corporate officers are less than one-half of a penny of every dollar paid in rates, or about 47 cents per month. Customer rate dollars go toward many things that ensure you have the energy you need, including systems that allow us to generate, purchase, and deliver energy to customers.
What do rates pay for?
Rates for electric and natural gas customers cover two types of costs:
- the cost of generating or purchasing energy
- the cost of delivering that energy to customers
Avista’s infrastructure investment plans address the need to replace infrastructure that has reached the end of its useful life, as well as respond to the need for reliability and technology investments required to build the integrated energy services grid that will take us into the future.
Below are some examples of infrastructure and system investments that are included in the requests.
- Ongoing management, inspection and replacement of 240,000 electric distribution wood poles through Avista’s wood pole management program, ensuring distribution wood poles and the equipment on them support the company’s ability to provide customers with safe and reliable power.
- Ongoing investment in Avista’s Wildfire Resiliency Plan, which outlines substantial steps that Avista has taken to guard against the growing threat of wildfires, including grid hardening, enhanced vegetation management, and many other industry-leading best practice measures.
- The ongoing project to systematically replace portions of natural gas distribution pipe in Avista’s service area that were installed prior to 1987, as well as replacement of other natural gas service equipment to strengthen the integrity, safety and reliability of the system.
- Technology upgrades that support necessary business processes and operational efficiencies that allow Avista to effectively manage the utility and serve customers.
Where can I learn more?
Want to learn more about how rate cases work? Watch this short video or read more about how rates and tariffs work. You can also find more details about this specific rate case here.