SPOKANE, WA, Nov 11, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has appointed Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA) Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Morris as chairman of the Board of Directors for Innovate Washington. As chairman, Morris will guide the board of the new state agency as it focuses on sector-based economic development through public-private alliances, starting with clean energy.

As a leader in the energy industry, Morris is currently serving on the boards of the Edison Electric Institute, American Gas Association, ReliOn, Washington Roundtable, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Seattle branch, and as the board chairman for Ecova. He has also served as board chairman of the Western Energy Institute, the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Washington Economic Development Commission. Under Morris' leadership, Avista is one of the lowest emitters of CO2 among the nation's top energy producers, making the company one of the greenest utilities in the nation.

"When the great state of Washington has quality, technology-based jobs available for its citizens, everyone benefits," Morris said. "I look forward to serving Innovate Washington as it works to make our state and region a world-class hub of clean energy ideas and the best place to develop, build, and deploy innovative products, services and solutions."

Kim Zentz, co-founder of Innovate Washington, said of Morris' appointment, "I applaud Governor Gregoire for naming Scott Morris to serve as her designee and chairman of the board. Scott's proven leadership of one of the nation's most innovative investor-owned utilities, combined with his demonstrated passion for the economic growth and development of the Pacific Northwest, makes him an ideal leader for guiding the implementation of this new model for Washington. Under his leadership, Innovate Washington is well positioned to accelerate technology-based innovation through a highly collaborative ecosystem that brings together entrepreneurs, large companies, federal, state & local government, investors, and industry leaders."

Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating division that provides electric service to 358,000 customers and natural gas to 317,000 customers. Our service territory covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.5 million. Avista's primary, non-utility subsidiary is Ecova, an energy and sustainability management company with more than 500 multi-site commercial and utility customers, representing more than 450,000 sites. Our stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more information about Avista, please visit www.avistacorp.com.

Avista Corp. and the Avista Corp. logo are trademarks of Avista Corporation.

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