20260204News Release.pdf

Idaho Public Utilities Commission Brad LitUe,Governor
P.O. Box 83720, Boise. ID 83770-0074 Edward Lodge, President
John R.Hammond, Jr.,Commissioner
Dayn Hardie,Commissioner
Case No.AVU-E-25-15
Order No. 36927
Contact:Adam Rush
Office: 1-208-334-0339
E-mail: [e-mail]
NEWS RELEASE: Commission is accepting written comments on northern Idaho electric
utility's application seeking approval of wildfire mitigation plan.
BOISE (Feb.4,2026)—The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is accepting written comments
on an application submitted by Avista Utilities seeking approval of its 2026 wildfire mitigation
plan (WMP). The plan details work the electric utility is doing to reduce the risk of wildfires.
Electric utilities file the plans with the Commission pursuant to the Wildfire Standard of Care
Act(WSCA). The WSCA requires the Commission to annually approve wildfire mitigation plans
for investor-owned utilities.Under the WSCA,if a wildfire results in a lawsuit against an electric
utility,there is a presumption the utility acted without negligence if it reasonably implemented a
Commission-approved WMP.
Each electric utility's plan includes identifying areas where the utility has infrastructure or
equipment that it considers may be subject to heightened risk of wildfire at the time the WMP is
finalized by the utility, actions and programs the utility will take to reduce wildfire risk,
community outreach and public awareness efforts the utility will use before, during and after
wildfire season to inform the public of relevant wildfire risk as well as efforts to notify the public
of wildfire-related outages, among other items.
Avista's WMP includes information on geographic risk assessment, fire detection equipment,
hourly fire risk modeling as well as distribution and transmission line construction strategies
designed to prevent spark ignitions. The plan also includes information on vegetation
management and wildfire preparedness exercises, among other items.
The Commission is accepting written comments on Avista's WMP until April 16, 2026.
Comments are required to be filed through the Commission's website or by e-mail unless
computer access is not available.To submit comments through the website, visit puc.idaho.gov
and click on the"Case Comment Form" link on the upper left side of the page. Please use case
number AVU-E-25-15 when filling out the form. Comments submitted through e-mail should be
sent to the e-mail addresses listed below. Commenters are required to include their name, address
and case number AVU-E-25-15. If computer access is not available, comments can be mailed to
the Commission and Avista Utilities at the addresses listed below. Commenters are required to
include their name, address and case number AVU-E-25-15 in correspondence.

For the Idaho Public Utilities Commission:
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Commission Secretary
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, ID 83702-0074
[e-mail]
For Avista Utilities:
Anni Glogovac
Counsel for Regulatory Affairs
Avista Corporation
P.O. Box 3727
1411 E. Mission Avenue, MSC 33
Spokane,WA 99220-3727
[e-mail]
Elizabeth Andrews
Senior Manager of Revenue Requirements
Avista Corporation
P.O. Box 3727
1411 E. Mission Avenue, MSC 27
Spokane,WA 99220-3727
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
Additional information onAvista's application is available at: puc.idaho.gov/case/Details/7660.