Avista Gets Foothold In Montana Partners With Energy West

When Montana deregulates its electricity industry next July, Avista Energy will be there peddling megawatts.

The Washington Water Power Co. subsidiary Monday announced formation of a joint venture with Energy West Inc., a natural gas and propane marketer based in Great Falls.

Energy West serves about 25,000 customers in Montana, most in the Great Falls area. The state’s two largest university campuses, an oil refinery, talc plant and other industrial customers boost the company’s share of the total Montana natural gas market to about 40 percent, said Jim Morin, Energy West manager of sales and marketing.

On July 1, 1998, consumers of more than one megawatt of electricity will be free to buy their power from anyone they choose.

The Montana Legislature approved deregulation this year. By 2002, everyone in the state will be able to select their electricity supplier.

Morin said selling power to individual residential and small business customers now served by another utility may be impractical.

But pooling together like customers in a single community such as Great Falls may make cheaper electricity available to everyone.

Such “aggregation” may be tried in Harrington and Odessa in a pilot program planned by WWP.

For Avista, said Vice President Tom Johns, the agreement teams the company with an established player in Montana energy markets.

As much as 200 megawatts of electricity demand will be up for grabs in the first stage of deregulation in the state, he said.

Johns said the partners are already introducing potential customers to Avista’s other energy services, including risk management and technology assessment.

Morin said an agreement with Avista was appealing in part because WWP’s largest generating plants - Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge - are in Montana.

“They’re uniquely positioned,” he said.

Energy West also sells gas and propane in Wyoming and Arizona, but markets there are not yet deregulated and will not immediately be affected by Monday’s agreement, Morin said.

The Energy West deal is the second allying Avista with a major gas marketer in a state poised to deregulate electricity.

In California, where the market opens January 1, Avista has hooked up with Mock Energy Services.

Sales in Montana will be handled from Energy West’s office, where the joint venture will hire a staff of about 10, Johns said.

, DataTimes