Avista’s natural gas customers in Washington will see a nearly 15 percent rate increase, on average, following a rate adjustment approval by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission.
As of November 1st, the average bill for a typical Avista residential natural gas customer using 66 therms will go up by $7 a month to $54.85.
The increase is blamed partly on a Canadian gas pipeline explosion last year. In October 2018, a 36-inch diameter natural gas mainline that supplied Canada, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon burst near Prince George, British Columbia. About half of Washington’s natural gas comes from British Columbia and Alberta.
Enbridge, the pipeline’s owner, completed repairs on the ruptured section of the pipeline within a a few weeks, but capacity was affected through winter 2019.
Avista’s rate change is also due to the Spokane-based company’s revenue decoupling mechanism, a UTC-approved tool allowing the utility’s revenues to be “decoupled” from sales.
Avista has nearly 169,000 natural gas customers in Eastern Washington.
The UTC also adjusted rates for other utilities in Washington, including Cascade Natural Gas, NorthWest Natural, and Puget Sound Energy. (Spokesman Review)
