Avista needs a competitor

Well, once again the “corporate fat cats” at Avista are seeking another sizeable rate increase on both natural gas and electricity rates. Will it, we ask, never end? At the very time unemployment is hitting record highs and home foreclosures continue at unimaginable numbers. Avista pleads for further rate increases. The giant utility achieved record profits during the past year and will in all likelihood surpass the previous record this year.

Avista claims the rate increases, if granted by Washington and Idaho regulators, would raise monthly bills an average $9 to $10 a month. Those projections are based upon homes of moderate size, with larger homes sizably more expensive.

Avista, sad to say, is no longer offering reasonable rates for electricity and natural gas, with rates no longer competitive as they once were. Competition doesn’t exist, since the utility controls both natural gas and electricity.

Dave Tutwiler

Spokane