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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Avista seeks Idaho electric rate increase

Avista Utilities wants to raise electric rates for Idaho customers to help pay ongoing costs for the company’s Spokane River dams and other parts of its system.

The utility is asking for a 7.7 percent increase in residential electric rates, effective Jan. 1. The request was filed this week with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

If approved, the bill for an average household would go up by $6.54 per month to $91.26. A typical Idaho residential customer uses about 918 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. The rate request also includes a $1 increase in the basic charge, from $5.25 to $6.25 per month.

The public utilities comission has nine months to review the request, accept public comment and make a decision. If approved as requested, the new rates would increase Avista’s annual revenues by about $15.4 million.

Last year, both Washington and Idaho electric customers benefited from lower wholesale power costs, said Pat Ehrbar, Avista’s senior manager of rates and tariffs. Washington customers got a slight reduction in base electric rates. In Idaho, Avista cut its initial request for higher residential rates from 6.9 percent to 0.9 percent, which added about 75 cents to a monthly bill.

But now the Spokane-based utility is again asking for higher electric rates in both states. In February, Avista asked for an 8.2 percent increase in residential rates in Washington, which is pending before regulators.

The requests vary because each state calculates costs that can be included in rates differently, Ehrbar said. The cost of providing electrical service in each state also varies, he said.