Utility Staff: Avista Should Cut Rate

Instead of asking for more money, Avista Corp. should be giving its Washington customers a slight break on their electric bills, according to staff members for a state regulatory commission. The Utilities and Transportation Commission’s staff is recommending a 1.2 percent cut in electric revenues for the Spokane-based utility, which initially asked for a 6.6 percent rate hike. In enacted, the cut would save a typical Washington electric customer about 20 cents per month. Avista failed to demonstrate that it needed more revenue in its latest rate case, given the company’s robust earnings in 2014, according to the UTC’s staff analysis/ Becky Kramer , SR. More here.

Question: Are you as tired as I am by the annual requests for rate hikes from Avista?