Avista Requests 11.5% Rate Cut for Washington Natural Gas Customers

Avista has filed its annual natural gas and electric price adjustment requests with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC). The filings aim to true-up customer rates with actual costs, which could lead to lower bills for customers. If approved, natural gas rates in Washington would fall by approximately 11.5%, driven mainly by a $32.8 million decrease related to the Climate Commitment Act and a $1.3 million decrease from the Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment.

Most residential natural gas customers using 61 therms per month would see bills drop about $7.38 to $88.80, according to Avista's filing with the WUTC. Electric adjustments are small and largely offset, resulting in an overall electric rate decrease of about 0.01%, or roughly $0.05 per month for a typical residential customer using 925 kWh.

Avista President and CEO Heather Rosentrater said, 'We know many families and businesses are paying close attention to every expense right now.' The company filed the requests as part of its annual rate adjustment process, which is separate from its pending general rate case.