Huckleberries Online

Press: Avista Rates Not Out Of Line

Posted by DFO

March 4, 2009 8:11 a.m. • 9 comments

The recent expenses include $26 million for relicensing, plus an undisclosed number of millions settling a century-old dispute with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe. These are costs that Avista would obviously rather not have incurred, but they’re critical to the company’s future — and, therefore, to ratepayers as well. Avista expects renewal of its license sometime this year and has settled with every one of more than 200 stakeholder groups but one — the Sierra Club. The settlement with the tribe adequately satisfied both parties, but only after years of negotiation and mediation. It is in everyone’s best interest that their dispute is now history/CDA Press Editorial Board. More here.

Question: The Press editorialist makes a solid argument for the natural gas and electric rate increases sought by Avista. Do you see any flaws in the logic?

Nine comments on this post so far. Add yours!

Arch_Druid on March 04 at 9:10 a.m.
I saw enough holes in the logic to discuss it at “A Matter of Opinion.” I was thinking I might even discuss it in even nastier terms, like, if people should have to make sacrifices in order to pay their Avista Utility bill, then what should they sacrifice first, perhaps a year’s subscription to the CDA Press. I hadn’t, then. But I am doing it now, LOL!

I did say, in response to a commenter there, that given people on fixed incomes, unemployed or working only part time that indeed Avista’s rate increase is in fact out of line. And where the editorial pointed out those energy savings tips, which I also pointed out to the commenter, Avista hands out these energy savings tips, people make use of them, then get punished by rate increases for having done so. As now, Avista must recoup its losses as people turned to energy savings to lower their bills.
Cabbage Boy on March 04 at 9:23 a.m.
Holes?

I am not an accountant, but it seems to me that any “expenses” are taken out before considering any income to be “profit” of which Avista had more than a little the last several years.
Me on March 04 at 10:11 a.m.
I’m curious what kind of effect you all think that the ‘carbon cap’, ‘carbon tax’ is going to have on energy rates?
Me on March 04 at 10:13 a.m.
Oh my first glance thinking on it is that companies won’t change how they are doing business necessarily, they will just pass the cost on to us?
Duffer on March 04 at 10:44 a.m.
If my memory serves me correctly, Duane Hagadone sat on the Board of Directors for Washington Water Power, now Avista Corp. Does he still have friends there? Or, by endorsing higher rates to the general consumer does he avoid even higher rates for his commercial ventures? Hmmmm…

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.