Avista gives customers advanced warning of rate hikes

As the price for natural gas continues to rise in tandem with gasoline, commercial and residential customers alike will see their power bills increase dramatically this winter,
Avista Corp. said in a release on Wednesday.

“We do know, based on purchases so far in transit, that it will be in the double digits,” said company spokeswoman Debbie Simock.

Almost 75,000 of the Spokane, Wash.-based utility’s 310,675 natural gas customers live in northern Idaho, and they could see the spike in prices reflected in their power costs as early as Nov. 1.

Simock said Avista hasn’t filed the purchase gas cost adjustments with Washington, Idaho or Oregon public utilities commissioners yet, but plans to do so in mid-September.

“We hope prices fall a bit before then,” she said.

Avista buys its natural gas from suppliers in Canada and the Rocky Mountain area, and last June paid $7.39 per dekatherm (10 therms, or about 290 kilowatt hours). This month that price had risen to $12.81 – a 73 percent increase.

“It’s tough to see,” Simock said. “We know the impacts these rising costs have on our customers, but they also have an impact on us as a corporation… these rising energy prices just make costs rise all around. It’s in every sector of our economy.”

The average residential Avista customer pays about $75.14 per month (based on 65 therms, or 1,904 kWh), while small commercial customers pay about $1,700 (1,652 therms).

Avista doesn’t mark up its natural gas, so only about 20 percent of a customer’s bill goes to cover the utility’s fixed costs, like transmission. The remaining 80 percent is the actual cost of the commodity, because of that Simock said Avista is encouraging consumers to be frugal with the resource.

“That’s what’s under the customer’s control. If they use less natural gas they’re having that positive impact on their bill,” she said.

To help customers cut down on their natural gas use the utility is offering a series of rebates and incentives.

“Not only does that benefit the customer, but it lessens the amount of natural gas we have to purchase,” Simock said.         

(Avista Web site)