Avista sizzles in cost survey

Avista Utilities provides some of the cheapest electricity for homeowners in the West, according to a seven-state survey of a dozen utilities.

The Lee Newspapers group, which operates several dailies in Montana, found that Avista’s 5.9 cents per kilowatt hour ranked among the least expensive along with the rates of Seattle City Light, the municipal utility serving the region’s biggest city.

The most expensive electricity for customers of major utilities in Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah was that sold by NorthWestern, the utility that purchased the distribution, transmission and billing services of the former Montana Power Co.

Here are a few more findings:

•At 9.59 cents per kilowatt hour, NorthWestern has the highest rate of any utility. The second-highest is Portland General Electric, at 8.53 cents per kWh. NorthWestern rates had been down to about 8 cents per kWh a year ago, but have climbed steadily since then.

•The lowest rates in the region are at Seattle City Light, a municipal utility, and Avista Utilities. Both charge customers about 5.9 cents per kWh. For Avista, that rate is for its Washington customers only. The rate is about 6.3 cents per kWh for Avista’s Idaho customers.

•For most private utilities in the region, rates in the past 18 months have increased anywhere from a few percentage points to as much as 25 percent. However, the larger increases are because of last week’s cancellation of a Bonneville Power Administration credit primarily benefiting utilities in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. That change led to immediate increases as high as 13 percent.

BPA canceled the credit after a court decision, which the utilities say they will appeal.