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This column reflects the opinion of the writer. Learn about the differences between a news story and an opinion column.

Avista cut is in order

An April 9 article in The Spokesman-Review, “U.S. facing glut of natural gas,” said we have so much natural gas, there’s nowhere to store it. Since last summer, the price for natural gas has been cut in half. It is now priced at 10-year lows, and dropping. Enter Avista. They gave us a tiny rate cut of a little over 6 percent effective March 1. Whoopee!

Then, Avista announced it is seeking a rate increase for equipment upgrades, a little over 6 percent. So, in reality, it’s a wash. Even though the wholesale gas price to Avista is at levels not seen since the Clinton era, we are still paying rates many times higher than we should.

A rate reduction of 25 percent to 35 percent is in order to reflect the price Avista is paying to purchase natural gas.

In the meantime, we, the customers, are being fleeced. But, heaven forbid, their top executive officers still need to make their millions in salaries off the ratepayers.

Richard Trerise

Spokane

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