Avista Reaches Settlement in Idaho Electric and Natural Gas Rate Requests
If approved, the settlement agreement would increase annual electric base revenues by
In addition to the agreed-upon increase in electric and natural gas revenues, the settlement agreement also includes:
- Adjustment to capital additions due to a timing delay, which reduced the overall revenue increase by
$3.3 million . - The continued recovery of approximately
$3.2 million in costs related to thePalouse Wind Project through the Power Cost Adjustment mechanism rather than through base rates. - The extension of certain deferral amortizations from two years to four years, which reduced the overall revenue increase by
$1.0 million . - The implementation of electric and natural gas Fixed Cost Adjustment (FCA) mechanisms, as discussed below.
"This settlement agreement will provide new electric and natural gas rates and accounting treatment in
Fixed Cost Adjustment
The settlement includes electric and natural gas FCA mechanisms. The FCA is a mechanism designed to break the link between a utility's revenues and a consumer's energy usage. The company's actual revenue, based on kilowatt-hour and therm sales, will vary, up or down, from the level set by the IPUC. This could be due to changes in conservation, weather or the economy.
Under the FCA mechanism, the company's electric and natural gas revenues would be adjusted each month to reflect revenues based on the number of customers, rather than kilowatt-hour and therm sales. The difference between revenues based on sales and revenues based on the number of customers will result in either surcharges or rebates to customers in the following year.
Residential Customer Electric Bill
If the settlement is approved, a residential customer using an average of 929 kilowatt hours per month could expect to see a bill increase of
As a part of its original application, Avista proposed to use
If approved, the electric increase by service schedule for 2016 is as follows:
Rate Schedule | 2016 Billing Increase | |
Residential Service - Schedule 1 | 0.9% | |
General Service - Schedules 11 & 12 | 0.5% | |
Large General Service - Schedules 21 & 22 | 0.6% | |
Extra Large General Service - Schedule 25 | 0.6% | |
Extra Large General Service 25P - Schedule 25P | 0.4% | |
Pumping Service - Schedules 31 & 32 | 0.7% | |
Street & Area Lights - Schedules 41 - 49 | 0.8% | |
Total | 0.7% | |
Residential Customer Natural Gas Bill
If the settlement is approved, a residential natural gas customer using an average of 61 therms per month could expect to see a
As a part of its application, Avista proposed to use
If approved, the natural gas increase by service schedule for 2016 is as follows:
Rate Schedule | 2016 Billing Increase Inclusive of New and Expiring Credits | |
General Service - Schedule 101 | 5.3% | |
Large General Service - Schedules 111 & 112 | 3.1% | |
Interruptible Service - Schedules 131 & 132 | 4.8% | |
Transportation Service - Schedule 146 | 3.1% | |
Total | 4.8% | |
Avista serves more than 127,000 electric and nearly 78,100 natural gas customers in
Customer Assistance
To assist customers in managing their energy bills, Avista offers services such as comfort level billing, payment arrangements and Customer Assistance Referral and Evaluation Services (CARES). CARES provides assistance to special-needs customers through referrals to area agencies and churches for help with housing, utilities, medical assistance and other needs. To learn more, visit www.avistautilities.com. There, customers can also find information on energy efficiency rebates and incentives, as well as online tools for managing energy use.
About
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than historical facts. Such statements speak only as of the date of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, in addition to those discussed herein, all of the factors discussed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
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