Avista Utility company presented a plan to the state that will raise rates about $13 starting Dec. 2024.
Thursday Avista filed a multiyear rate plan with Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission. This will allow Avista to recover costs to provide service to the Inland Northwest.
If approved, residential customers could expect to see the following changes in their monthly bills, based on average usage:
Effective in Dec. 2024
– Your electric Bill will increase $12.94 per month, going from an average of $97.26 to $110.20 per month
– Your natural gas bill will increase $6.36 per month, going from an average of $94.86 to $101.22
Effective in Dec. 2025
– Your electric Bill will increase $6.87 per month, going from an average of $110.20 to $117.07 per month
– Your natural gas bill will increase $2.04 per month, going from an average of $101.22 to $103.26
The plan is set to help cover operating and maintenance costs but is still waiting the states approval. Among the projects included in Thursday’s filing are:
Investments in clean energy hydroelectric projects, such as Nine Mile, Cabinet Gorge, Post Falls, and Noxon Rapids.installation of new substations to meet capacity requirements.Continued investment in the Wildfire Resiliency Plan, which outlines substantial steps that Avista has taken to guard against the growing threat of wildfiresTechnology upgrades that support necessary business processes and operational efficiencies
Avista said inflation is impacting the costs of doing business and serving customers. They also said the ongoing effort to align the rates customers pay with their costs to serve is a hug influence in why they filed this rate hike request.
There is a 11-month process where price change requests are evaluated and decided upon.
