Customers continue benefiting from rebate and incentive
programs to reduce energy use
June 1, 2012, 1:30 p.m. PDT: Avista customers in
Washington could see a decrease in their electric and
natural gas rates beginning Aug. 1, if the Washington
Utilities and Transportation Commission approves the
company's request to reduce surcharges that fund the
company's electric and natural gas energy efficiency
programs.
The decreases are being requested to balance the amount of
funding required for Avista to operate its energy
efficiency programs, including the rebates and incentives
paid to participating customers for installing energy
saving measures. The requests are a part of Avista's annual
report to Washington regulators regarding the funding of
the company's energy efficiency programs.
If Avista's requests are approved, electric customers in
Washington would see an overall 1.9 percent decrease, or
$1.47 a month for residential customers using an average of
989 kilowatt hours. Natural gas customers in Washington
would see an overall 1.3 percent decrease, or a 79-cent per
month reduction for residential customers using 68 therms.
These tariff adjustments have no impact on company
earnings.
Last year customers in Avista's three-state service area
received more than 43,000 rebates and incentives totaling
almost $16 million. The energy savings are enough to power
more than 5,300 Inland Northwest homes for a year and serve
2,300 homes with natural gas for a year, or almost 64,000
megawatt hours and 1.7 million therms of natural gas.
Of the rebates paid in 2011, more than 28,000 were to
Washington customers totaling $11.4 million, more than
12,000 rebates to Idaho customers totaling $3.7 million,
and Oregon customers received 2,300 rebates totaling $1.2
million. The most popular energy and cost-saving measures
for residential customers included purchasing Energy
Star® appliances, installing high efficiency natural
gas furnaces, and upgrading insulation. The average
residential rebate for single family homes was $105.
Approximately $1.7 million was provided for weatherization
for qualifying low-income customers in Washington and
$595,000 for Idaho customers. An additional $40,000 was
provided for conservation education for Idaho customers.
Information on energy efficiency rebates and incentives
Avista offers for residential, commercial and low-income
customers is available at www.everylittlebit.com,
along with other energy-saving information.
Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the
production, transmission and distribution of energy as
well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities
is our operating division that provides electric service
to 360,000 customers and natural gas to 321,000
customers. Our service territory covers 30,000 square
miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of
southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.5
million. Avista's primary, non-regulated subsidiary is
Ecova, an energy and sustainability management company
with more than 500 multi-site commercial and utility
customers, representing more than 450,000 sites. Our
stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more
information about Avista, please visit www.avistacorp.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements
regarding the company's current expectations.
Forward-looking statements are all statements other than
historical facts. Such statements speak only as of the date
of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks
and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's
control, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from the expectations. These risks and
uncertainties include, in addition to those discussed
herein, all of the factors discussed in the company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31,
2011.
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