SPOKANE, Wash., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The board of directors of Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA) has elected Karen Feltes as senior vice president and Marian Durkin as the corporation's chief compliance officer.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040128/SFW031LOGO )

Feltes, vice president for human resources and corporate secretary, joined Avista in 1998. She is responsible for coordinating strategic and tactical planning and providing support and guidance to the board of directors and the senior management team to translate that planning into effective human resources policies and practices. Her election as senior vice president was effective Nov. 11.

Durkin joined Avista in August 2005 from United Air Lines, Inc., in Chicago, Ill. At Avista she serves as senior vice president and chief legal officer for the corporation. As chief compliance officer, Durkin will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing Avista's ethics and compliance programs, reporting to the chief executive officer and the Audit Committee of the board of directors. Her election as corporate compliance officer was also effective Nov. 11.

"Both Karen and Marian bring a breadth of strategic experience and vision to Avista. Their election to their new positions is recognition by the board of directors of the valuable contributions they each make to our customers, shareholders and employees," said Gary G. Ely, board chairman, president and chief executive officer for Avista.

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 a company operating division that provides service to 330,000 electric and 285,000 natural gas customers in three western states. Avista's non-regulated subsidiaries include Avista Advantage and Avista Energy. Avista Corp.'s stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more information about Avista, please visit www.avistacorp.com.

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

SOURCE  Avista Corp.
    -0-                             11/15/2005
    /CONTACT:  media, Jessie Wuerst, +1-509-495-8578, or
jessie.wuerst@avistacorp.com, or investors, Jason Lang, +1-509-495-2930, or
jason.lang@avistacorp.com, both of Avista Corporation, or Avista 24/7 Media
Access, +1-509-495-4174/
    /Photo:  NewsCom:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040128/SFW031LOGO
             AP Archive:  http://photoarchive.ap.org
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    /Web site:  http://www.avistacorp.com /
    (AVA)

CO:  Avista Corp.
ST:  California
IN:  OIL UTI ENV
SU:  PER

TH-TX
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1654 11/15/2005 18:00 EST http://www.prnewswire.com