Avista asks for rate increases

SPOKANE — Avista Corporation is seeking permission from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) for a two-step rise in electricity and natural gas rates for its customers beginning in December 2022.

In a press release issued Friday, the company said it is seeking a 7.4% increase in overall electricity rates and a 2.5% increase in natural gas rates for 2023, with another round of proposed rate rises in December 2023 of 3% for electricity, and 1.1% for natural gas in 2024.

Residential customers will see the highest rate increases, with the average home electricity bill proposed to increase 7.9% in 2023 and 3.1% in 2024. Customers who use large amounts of power — industry and farmers who irrigate — will see lower increases under the rate hike proposal, but will still see their power rates rise in 2023 and 2024.

The increases are intended to increase company revenue by $63.8 million in 2023 to help recover costs incurred as Avista replaces and improves the power distribution infrastructure across its eastern Washington service area, including a number of power poles and older natural gas pipe, according to the press release.

The proposed rate increases will also cover the cost of upgrading the company’s technology and improving the company’s Wildfire Resiliency Plan.

“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,” Avista President and CEO Dennis Vermillion said in the press release.

The proposed rate increases must first be approved by the WUTC to go into effect.

The value of shares in the Spokane-based company traded on the New York Stock Exchange fell 31 cents on Friday to close at $43.76 per share.