Avista Seeks 11.5% Natural Gas Rate Cut in Washington State

Avista Corp., which serves over 815,000 customers across eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and parts of Oregon, has filed annual rate adjustment requests with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. The company is seeking to reduce natural gas rates by approximately 11.5%, while leaving electric rates nearly unchanged.

The largest driver of the natural gas reduction is an adjustment tied to Washington's Climate Commitment Act, which would cut rates by approximately 11%, or $32.8 million. A Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment accounting for lower wholesale natural gas prices during the past winter would reduce rates by an additional 0.5%, or $1.3 million.

For a typical residential natural gas customer using an average of 61 therms per month, the monthly bill decrease would be approximately $7.38, from $96.18 to $88.80. On the electric side, the overall proposed change amounts to a decrease of approximately $20,000, or 0.01%, across all rate schedules.

Avista's president and CEO, Heather Rosentrater, stated that these annual adjustments are separate from their pending general rate case and reflect specific costs that are reviewed every year in Washington.