Item: Avista customers hit with whopping January power bills/Shawn Vestal, SR

More here: A lot of people got a shock in the mail over the past couple of days: a whopping power bill. January’s bills are typically among the year’s highest, and this year’s came loaded with the effects of four weeks of harsh winter, a longer-than-average billing period, and rate increases for Washington customers. Add to that the fact that many bills are computer estimates – since meter readers couldn’t reach many homes during the peak of the storms – and customers have a lot of questions for Avista.

DFO: My power bill jumped from $88 to $145 -- and I primarily use a wood stove for heat!

Question: Were you shocked by your January Avista bill?