Avista could do more

Avista reported an increase in fourth quarter earnings in 2020 compared to 2019 in today’s (2/25/21) Spokesman Review. I do like and compliment the fact that Avista is a good corporate entity for Spokane.

That said, I would like Avista much better if the current President and CEO Dennis Vermillion - who makes better than $830.00 an hour in cash and compensation - not brag so much about his customers’ benefits from their ‘smart meters’ rather than Avista’s. He’s all gushy about how these new meters are now “helping our customers better manage their energy usage”! Really?!?

I understand they do automatically report power loss compared to the old ones. However, unless I have my head in the sand, I cannot tell diddly-squat by looking at my smart electric and gas meters. I would be delighted to hear either from Avista or other customers like myself how many study their smart meter readings to ‘better manage their energy usage’.

Heck, I signed up for online billing and all I now see is the amount I owe every month in an email. If I want to see my actual gas and electricity usage, I have to hassle with logging on to their website. I would appreciate it more if they included this simple relevant information with the dollar amount owed.

Frankly Sir, my smart meter contributes nothing to my energy use management.

Phil Zammit

Spokane