Avista Seeks Centralia Change

Avista Corp. wants Washington regulators to repackage last week’s order approving the sale of the Centralia Generating Station.

The Spokane utility also submitted a breakdown of sale proceeds that senior rate accountant Ron McKenzie said clarifies, not contradicts, estimates done by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.

“There’s really not any major disagreement,’ he said Friday.

The pending sale to TransAlta Corp. will bring Avista a book gain of $50.7 million. Of that, $34 million will be credited to Washington operations.

Avista owns 15 percent of the plant.

Ratepayers will be assigned $30.4 million of the gain from the sale, shareholders $3.5 million.

But McKenzie said Avista does not want to make a final decision on the advisability of the sale until the UTC rules on the company’s proposed purchase of another 2.5 percent of the plant from Portland General Electric.

That deal occurred after TransAlta announced last May its intent to buy the Centralia plant and an adjacent mine.

“We need that other piece of the puzzle,” McKenzie said.

Avista had only 10 days to ask the commission to reconsider its order on the sale.