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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20260428Annual ISQ Program Report.pdf ' 11. RECEIVED April 28, 2026 Avista Corp. IDAHO PUBLIC 1411 East Mission Ave.,P.O. Box 3727 UTILITIES COMMISSION Spokane,WA 99220-0500 Telephone: 509-489-0500 Toll Free: 800-227-9187 April 28, 2026 Commission Secretary Idaho Public Utilities Commission 11331 W. Chinden Blvd. Bldg. 8, Ste. 201-A Boise, Idaho 83714 RE: Avista Utilities 2025 Idaho Service Quality(ISQ) Program Report Dear Commission Secretary: Attached for electronic filing in Case Nos. AVU-E-18-10 and AVU-G-18-06 is the 2025 Idaho Service Quality (ISQ) Program Report of Avista Corporation, dba Avista Utilities (Avista or the Company), pursuant to the Company's electric tariff Schedule 85 and natural gas Schedule 185. If you have any questions regarding this filing, please contact me at(509) 495-7950 or Amanda.ghering@avistacorp.com. Sincerely, 16 &`ieN�n7 Amanda Ghering Regulatory Affairs Manager Avista Utilities .. a .� ,• iY- ...• :� • .r , - ic _ u-a ityi- ri , 4 • �J Re IDAHO • r 0 -,rv- � 1 .. � L Table of Contents I. Introduction................................................................................................................... 3 II. Executive Summary...................................................................................................... 3 Customer Service Measures -Results for 2025 ..........................................................4 Electric System Reliability - Results for 2025............................................................ 4 Customer Service Guarantees—Results for 2025....................................................... 6 III. Customer Service Measures.......................................................................................... 7 Measure 1: Customer Satisfaction with the Telephone Service provided by Avista's CSRs .......................................................................................................................... 8 Measure 2: Customer Satisfaction with Avista's Field Service Representatives........ 9 Measure 3: Answering Our Customers' Calls Promptly........................................... 10 Measure 4: Avista's Response Time for Electric Emergencies ................................ 11 Measure 5: Avista's Response Time for Natural Gas Emergencies ......................... 12 IV.Electric System Reliability ......................................................................................... 13 Measure 1: Number of Electric System Outages ...................................................... 14 Measure 2: Average Duration of Electric System Outages....................................... 15 V. Customer Service Guarantees..................................................................................... 16 Guarantee 1: Keeping Electric and Natural Gas Service Appointments................... 16 Guarantee 2: Prompt Restoration of Electric System Outage................................... 17 Guarantee 3: Promptly Turning on Electric or Natural Gas Service Upon Request. 17 Guarantee 4: Promptly Providing Cost Estimates to Customers for New Service ... 18 Guarantee 5: Promptly Responding to Customers' Bill Inquiries............................. 19 Guarantee 6: Promptly Responding to Customers' Meter Problems ........................ 20 Guarantee 7: Providing Customers Advance Notice of Scheduled Electric Interruptions .................................................................................................................................. 20 Appendix A— Service Quality Program Report Card............................................... 22 Appendix B - Definitions and Index Calculations .................................................... 23 Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 2 I. Introduction On December 28, 2017, the Commission issued Order No. 33953 in the Company's general rate case,I approving the Settlement Stipulation filed by the Parties and requiring the Company to make additional compliance filings to meet the terms and - conditions of the Settlement.As part of these filings, . an initial draft of the proposed Idaho Service Quality (ISQ) Program (ISQ Program or Program) was provided to Commission Staff(Staff) on February 15, 2018. Through the course of subsequent discussions and collaborative efforts, Avista and Staff agreed on a set of service measures and accompanying benchmarks and reporting requirements that, taken together, provide an overall assessment of the quality of the Company's service to its Idaho customers.Referred to collectively as Avista's ISQ Program, and approved by the Commission on November 1,2018,with associated tariff Schedule 85 for electric service and Schedule 185 for natural gas service, these measures include: ✓ Five (5) individual measures of the level of customer service and satisfaction that the Company must achieve each year;3 ✓ Reporting on two (2)measures of electric system reliability; ✓ Seven (7) individual service standards through which Avista provides customers with payment or bill credit in the event the Company does not deliver the required service level (Customer Service Guarantees). Under this agreement,the Company also reports to its customers and the Commission annually on its prior-year performance in meeting these customer service quality and reporting requirements. The following report includes a summary of the 2025 annual results of its ISQ Program, followed by a more in-depth explanation of the measures themselves and associated annual outcomes. II. Executive Summary In compliance with Order No. 34181 in Case Nos. AVU-E-18-10 and AVU-G-18-06, Avista's 2025 ISQ Program Report (Report) provides the annual performance results for the Company's ISQ Program for 2025. During its 2025 Program year,Avista is pleased to report that the Company has again exceeded all of its Customer Service Measures and built upon its history of high customer satisfaction levels. The percent of customers satisfied with the Company's contact center and field services, based on survey results, show Avista achieved 98% and 93% satisfaction rates, ' Case Nos.AVU-E-17-01 and AVU-G-17-02 2 Stipulation"Parties"included Avista,IPUC Commission Staff,Clearwater Paper Corporation,Idaho Forest Group, LLC,and the Community Action Partnership Association of Idaho(CAPAI). 3 Four individual Customer Service Measures exist within each of Avista's approved tariff schedules; the fourth benchmark differs in its requirements between electric and natural gas service, resulting in five separate measures altogether. Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 3 respectively.4 In addition, the Company also celebrates a 100% success rate in restoring service within 24 hours of a customer-reported electric outage in 2025. Finally, Avista successfully met 99.87% of its applicable Customer Service Guarantees (Guarantees)in 2025,providing customers with a guaranteed credit in 37 out of 28,814 cases. The overall success rate of these Guarantees shows Avista's continued dedication to serving our customers. Avista is committed to continued improvement in each of these areas as we carry forward our mission to enhance our customers' lives through innovative energy solutions and the delivery of safe, affordable, and reliable service now and into the future. Customer Service Measures - Results for 2025 Listed in Table No. 1 below are the five Customer Service Measures, including their respective service requirements (benchmarks), and the Company's performance results in meeting them for 2025. Avista achieved all of its customer service benchmarks for the year. Table No. I —2025 Results for Avista's Customer Service Measures Cust4milvice Measures itLch�rr 2025 ' r Percent of customers satisfied with our contact At least 90% 98% ✓ center services,based on survey results Percent of customers satisfied with field At least 90% 93% ✓ services,based on survey results Percent of calls answered live within 60 At least 80% 82.8% ✓ seconds by our contact center Average time from customer call to arrival of No more than 65 / field technicians in response to electric system minutes 52.6 minutes V emergencies,per year Average time from customer call to arrival of No more than 55 field technicians in response to natural gas 38 minutes V system emergencies,per year minutes Electric System Reliability - Results for 2025 Table Nos. 2 and 3 below list the two measures of washington and .. electric system reliability to be reported by Avista each year as part of its ISQ Program. Because the Ohnrldatkn annual electric reliability results often vary ` substantially year-to-year (the case for any electric utility's system),it is difficult to derive a meaningful r^Q•'• 6K.ft PeIOtlN S..a.ani—S°[ assessment of the Company's system reliability ��h• e • ,• .nw 1<, ,tl from any single-year's result. Consequently, in ^., n .. .GolArn ,,.- lewwC18r4 addition to reporting the current-year result for each Stevenson measure, Avista also reports the average value of La Grande• each measure for the previous five-year period, the average for the current five-year period (which includes the results for the current year - 2025), a Includes customers"satisfied"and"very satisfied". Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 4 and the historic"five-year rolling average"from 2021 —2025. This data provides context for better interpreting each year's reliability results. Table No. 2—2025 Results for Number of Outages on Avista's System (SAIFI) Number of Outages 2025 Current 5-Year Average Previous 5-Year Average System Results (2021-2025) (2020-2024) Average number of sustained 0.94 0.96 .95 outages(interruptions)per per Customer Per Customer Per Customer customer for the year(SAIFI)' Table No. 3—Results for Duration of Outages on Avista's System in 2025 (SAIDI) Outage DurSystem Results ation .I Average I I I - Average duration of sustained outages(interruptions)per 150 Minutes 141 Minutes 137 Minutes customer for the year. (SAmI)6 Figure Nos. 1 and 2 below show the"five-year rolling average" for each reliability measure from 2012 through 2025. As shown in the figures, the long-term ,I trend for each reliability measure is stable during this ~ period. The trend in number of outages stays similar i ✓israa while the outage duration is declining, indicating an overall trend toward improved system reliability. The Company formally reports its reliability results for its entire electric system in its Washington Electric Service Reliability Report. Provided annually to Idaho as a courtesy, Avista also agreed to track and report its Idaho-specific annual results as part of the ISQ Program. In 2025, the Idaho-specific average number of electric system outages per customer in 2025 was 1.20, and the average total outage duration per customer was 208.45 minutes. While these results are somewhat higher than the prior year,they remain within the range observed in recent years. ' See Appendix B for a more detailed definition of these reliability measures and calculation of indices. 6 See Appendix B. Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 5 Figure No. I —Historic Five-Year Rolling Average for Number of Electric Outages on Avista's Electric System (SAIFI) Historic Five-Year Averages of the Annual Number of Outages (SAIFI) 1.06 1.05 1.04 1.04 1.02 v) 1.02 1.01 LU 0 1 a 0 0.98 0.97 0.96 0.96 0.96 LL 0.95 0 0.96 0.94 w 0.94 m 0.92 z 0.9 0.88 Le 31> Figure No. 2 —Historic Five-Year Rolling Average for Duration of Outages on Avista's Electric System (SAIDI) Historic Five-Year Averages of Annual Outage Duration (SAIDI) 160 151 149 151 148 142 142 141 138 137 141 140 z 120 z 100 80 0 � 60 r 0 40 20 0 LOy1 LOy3 LOyp ti��� ti��6 ��y1 -Poi Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 6 Customer Service Guarantees —Results for 2025 Our ISQ Program includes seven types of service for which we - provide Customer Service Guarantees. In the event that the Company fails to meet a Customer Service Guarantee, Avista provides the customer or applicant with a bill credit or payment in the amount of$50 in recognition of the inconvenience. All costs associated with the payment of Customer Service `( Guarantees are paid by the Company's shareholders and are not paid by our customers in their rates for service or otherwise. Table No. 4 below provides a list of the services covered in the ISQ Program Guarantees, as well as the Company's performance results in meeting these Guarantees in 2025. Table No. 4—2025 Results for Avista's Customer Service Guarantees MissedCustomer Service Guarantee Successful $Pai% Keeping our electric and natural gas service appointments 1,234 3 $150 scheduled with our customers Restore service within 24 hours of a customer reporting an 6,868 5 $250 outage(excluding major storm events) Turn on power the same day the request is received 4,025 0 $0 Provide a cost estimate for new electric or natural gas 1,454 0 $0 service within 10 business days of receiving the request Investigate and respond to a billing inquiry within 10 242 0 $0 business days if unable to answer a question on first contact Investigate a reported meter problem or conduct a meter test 103 0 $0 and report the results within 20 business days Notify customers at least 24 hours in advance of a planned 16,305 29 $1,450 power outage lasting longer than 5 minutes Totals 30,231 37 $1,850 III. Customer Service Measures There are numerous touchpoints where customers interact with Avista, each playing a pivotal role in shaping their perception of the Company and the satisfaction they derive from our services. While Avista has tracked its customers' satisfaction with primary services such as customer contact center and field services for many years,we are equally invested in understanding whether we are meeting broader service expectations. In response to this interest,Avista conducts its Voice of the Customer (VOC) survey, which prompts customers to evaluate their overall satisfaction with our services. This holistic measure serves as a crucial indicator of how satisfied our customers are with the entirety of the integrated services and value provided by Avista.As depicted in Figure No. 3 below,Avista's overall customer satisfaction, encompassing both satisfied and very satisfied responses, has consistently ranged between 94% and 97% over the past decade. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 7 Figure No. 3—Percent of Customers Satisfied or Very Satisfied with Avista's Overall Service Level 2016-2025 f Percent of Customers Satisfied or Very Satisfied with Avista's Overall Service 2016-2025 0 100 97 96 96 97 97 97LU 96 N 94 95 94 Ln o}c 90 LU 0 w LL 80 Ln z w U cc a 70 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 These results are broadly consistent with the Idaho-specific satisfaction rates of 98%reported for the contact center and 93% for field services for 2025, as further described below. Accordingly, the outcomes of the five customer service measures outlined in the following sections collectively provide a comprehensive evaluation of our customers' overall satisfaction with the quality and value of our services. Measure 1: Customer Satisfaction with the Telephone Service Provided by Avista's CSRs The level of our customers' satisfaction with the telephone service provided by the Company's contact center will meet or exceed a benchmark of 90%.7 Several factors influence how customers perceive the quality of telephone service provided by our Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) and contact center. Each year, we evaluate how important these factors are to our customers and measure their satisfaction with each one. The factors assessed, along with the percentage of customers who reported being satisfied or very satisfied in 2025, are summarized below. 'See Avista's tariff Schedules 85 (electric) 185(natural gas)for further specifics regarding this measure. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 8 ✓ The CSR handled the customer's call in a friendly, caring manner. (99%) ✓ The CSR was informed and knowledgeable. (97%) ✓ The CSR met the customer's needs promptly. (97%) ✓ The CSR gave the customer all the information they needed in one call. (96%) ✓ Customer was connected to a CSR in a reasonable amount of time. (96%) 2025 Results — The annual survey results for this measure of customer satisfaction show that, overall,98%percent of Avista's customers were satisfied with the quality of the telephone service they received from our CSRs. Table No. 5— Customer Satisfaction with Avista's Contact Center Representatives in 2025 Customerin with Avista's Contact Service 2025 Center Representatives Quality Performance Percent of customers satisfied or very satisfied 90% or Greater 98% with the quality of Avista's CSRs For the purpose of reporting our annual service quality performance under this Program, the Company will continue to use its system-wide results. Avista will also separately track and report the results for this measure for our Idaho-specific customers,though it is not a requirement of the ISQ Program. For 2025, the percent of Idaho customers satisfied or very satisfied with the Company's CSRs and contact center was 98%,with 90%of our customers noting they were"very satisfied"and 8%noting they were"satisfied. These results represent an approximate two percent increase in overall customer satisfaction compared to 2024, reflecting continued strong performance in customer interactions with our CSRs and contact center. Measure 2: Customer Satisfaction with Avista's Field Service Representatives The level of our customers' satisfaction with the Company's field services will meet or exceed a benchmark of 90W The quality of our field services and the satisfaction of `j our customers are influenced by several key factors. Annually,we gauge the significance of these factors to our customers and assess their satisfaction with each aspect of our service. Below are these factors, along with our customers' satisfaction levels (either satisfied or very satisfied) with each factor in 2025. ✓ The service representative kept customer informed of the status of their job. (94%) ✓ The service representative or service crew was courteous and respectful. (98%) ✓ The service representative or service crew was informed and knowledgeable. (97%) s See Avista's tariff Schedules 85 (electric) 185(natural gas)for further specifics regarding this measure. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 9 ✓ The service representative or service crew left the customer's property in the condition they found it. (99%) ✓ The service work was completed according to the customer's expectations. (97%) ✓ The overall quality of the work performed by Avista Utilities. (98%) 2025 Results—The annual survey results for this measure, as reported in Table No. 6 below, show that 93%percent of our customers were satisfied with the service provided by Avista's field service representatives. Table No. 6— Customer Satisfaction with Avista's Field Services Representatives in 2025 CustomerI Representatives Percent of customers satisfied or very satisfied with 90% or Greater 93% ✓ the quality of Avista's field service representatives Satisfied Avista will again continue to use its system-wide results for the purpose of reporting our annual service quality performance under this Program. The Company will also separately track and report the results for this measure for our Idaho customers only, although it is not a requirement of the ISQ Program. For 2025, the percent of Idaho customers satisfied or very satisfied with the Company's field service representatives was slightly higher than the system-wide results at 93%, with 83% of customers "very satisfied" and 10% "satisfied"with the quality of our field services. Measure 3: Answering Our Customers' Calls Promptly The percentage of customer calls answered live by a CSR within 60 seconds will average 80% or greater.9 This customer service measure serves as one of the service attributes contributing to customers' overall satisfaction _ with our CSRs and contact center. Commonly referred to as the "Grade of Service" (GOS), this measure is the average percentage of customer calls to our contact center that are answered live by a CSR within 60 seconds, for those customers who wish to speak with a CSR. When a customer calls Avista's contact center, the call is initially received by an automated (voice activated) phone system. The customer is presented with the option of using the phone system for self-service (e.g., checking their account balance or paying their bill) or to connect with a live CSR to address their service needs. Avista's response time in answering the customer's call is the time that elapses between the customer's request to speak to a representative and when their call is answered live by a CSR. Avista has maintained a service benchmark of 80% or greater for many years. Rather than establishing a higher GOS (e.g.,90%or a goal of answering calls within 30 seconds),which would demand increased staffing levels and may entail additional costs to customers, Avista has prioritized lower-cost or no-cost measures such as effective employee training and attribute 9 See Avista's tariff Schedules 85 (electric) 185(natural gas)for further specifics regarding this measure. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 10 coaching to maintain our high level of overall customer satisfaction with our CSRs and contact center. In addition to responding to customers effectively, Avista has implemented measures to help reduce the overall volume of customer calls, consequently reducing the service costs that are ultimately passed on to customers. These efforts include multiple communication channel options such as e-mail, online chat, customer self-service via website, or the automated phone system. These efforts not only help reduce the volume of calls to our contact center while still ensuring a high level of service at lower cost but also enhance the overall customer experience and satisfaction level. 2025 Results — In 2025, Avista's customers made a total of 428,611 qualifying calls to the Company that were answered live by a CSR. Of these calls, 354,880 were answered live in 60 seconds or less, for a GOS of approximately 82.8%, as shown in Table No. 7 below. Table No. 7—Percent of Avista's Customer Calls Answered Live within 60 Seconds in 2025 Percent of i2025 Achiiieved Live Within 60 Secondi WQuality Performance Percent of Avista's customer calls answered live by 80%or Greater 82.8% a CSR within 60 seconds Measure 4: Avista's Response Time for Electric Emergencies ` The average response time to an electric system emergency will not exceed 65 minutes for the year. ° 4 When customers contact Avista to report an electric service emergency, the Company works with the ., customer to quickly ascertain the particular circumstances being reported and instructs the customer on how best to ensure the safety of themselves and others until help arrives. The Company immediately dispatches service personnel that is best situated to respond in the shortest time possible. Once at the scene,Avista's first priority is to make the situation safe for our customers, citizens, other emergency responders, and our employees. Restoration efforts commence once the site's safety is secured and necessary resources are present. The Company's ability to respond quickly to an electrical emergency is influenced by many factors, some of which include the urban or rural areas, the location of the nearest available respondent (especially in rural areas), the time of day, season of the year, weather conditions, traffic, and the presence of other simultaneous emergency events across the Company's system. For this measure, the response time to an electric emergency is the elapsed time between the confirmation of the emergency with the customer (when the dispatch field order is given) and when the Avista service person arrives at the scene. 2025 Results — The average response time for the year is calculated by dividing the sum of all applicable electric emergency response times by the total number of qualifying electric emergency incidents. Avista received 286 qualifying electric emergency reports in its Idaho service area in io See Avista's electric tariff Schedule 85 for further specifics regarding this measure. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report I I 2025, which had a cumulative response time of approximately 15,042 minutes. The resulting average response time for 2025 was 52.6 minutes, as noted in Table No. 8 below. Table No. 8—Avista's Response Time for Electric Emergencies in 2025 Service L � i i , I lift Performance Achieve% Average time from customer call to the arrival of Avista's 65 Minutes 52.6 Minutes ✓ field technicians in response to electric system emergencies or Less Measure 5: Avista's Response Time for Natural Gas Emergencies ' The average response time to a natural gas .�•� ;�',; system emergency will not exceed 55 minutes for r the year.11 When customers call Avista to report a natural gas emergency,the Company works with the customer ' to quickly ascertain whether the presence of natural gas (via odor or some other characteristic) is likely coming from inside the customer's home or business, or from facilities located outside. If inside, the customer is instructed to immediately evacuate the building to a safe distance and await the arrival of emergency responders. If the leak is outside, instructions to the customer are based on the proximity and type of the leak to their(or others') home or business. Once the nature of the issue has been determined and the customer has been provided with precautionary instructions on how best to ensure their own safety and that of others until help arrives, the Company immediately dispatches the service personnel best situated to respond to the scene in the shortest time possible. At the scene,Avista's first priority is to make the situation safe for our customers, citizens, other emergency responders, and our employees. Restoration efforts commence once the safety of the site is secured, and necessary resources arrive at the scene. The Company's ability to respond quickly to a natural gas emergency is influenced by many factors, some of which include the urban or rural locale, the location of the nearest available respondent (especially in rural areas), the time of day, season of the year, weather conditions, traffic, and the presence of other simultaneous emergency events across the system. Natural gas emergencies differ from electric emergencies,however, in that the risk of a potential consequence to a natural gas leak can increase with the passage of time as leaking natural gas may accumulate at the site. For this reason, Avista's work practices and staffing levels aim to provide an average response time of 55 minutes or less. For this measure,the response time to a natural gas emergency is the elapsed time between the confirmation of the emergency with the customer (when the dispatch field order is given) and when the Avista service person arrives at the scene. " See Avista's natural gas tariff Schedule 185 for further specifics regarding this measure. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 12 2025 Results — The average response time for the year is calculated by dividing the sum of all applicable natural gas emergency response times by the total number of qualifying emergency incidents. Avista received 2,113 qualifying natural gas emergency reports in its Idaho service area in 2025,which had a cumulative response time of 81,107 minutes. The resulting average for 2025 was nearly 38 minutes as noted in Table No. 9 below. Table No. 9—Avista's Response Time for Natural Gas Emergencies in 2025 Response i2025 Achieveo. Emergencies Quality Performance Average time from customer call to the arrival of 55 Minutes or Avista's field technicians in response to natural gas Less 38 Minutes ✓ system emergencies IV. Electric System Reliability Providing safe and highly reliable electric service for our customers at a reasonable cost is fundamental to our business. Avista believes its current level of reliability is satisfactory and cost effective for our customers, and our long-term objective is to generally uphold our current levels of electric system reliability. Achieving this requires an ongoing effort to balance the many investments and other priority needs across our system for today and with implications that project far into the future. As already discussed, the Company monitors and tracks various aspects of the reliability performance of its system each year,relying on industry-standard measures (or indices). Two of the most commonly reported measures are briefly described below, and are discussed in greater detail in Appendix B. For its Idaho Service Quality Program, Avista reports its annual reliability results in the context of its historic five-year rolling average for these two measures: ✓ Number of Outages —known technically as the System Average Interruption Frequency Index or"SAIFI,"is the average number of sustained interruptions (outages)per customer for the year. ✓ Outage Duration—known technically as the System Average Interruption Duration Index or "SAIDI," is the average duration of sustained interruptions (outages) per customer for the year. Many factors influence the number and duration of outages on any electric system. Some of these include the average age of the system, its engineering design, construction standards, general condition, the extent of the system that is rural, terrain, utility equipment and staffing levels, and its day-to-day operation. The type and proximity of surrounding vegetation and local and regional weather patterns, including variability in weather, can have a pronounced impact on system reliability. Because the frequency and duration of the electric system outages that result from these factors can vary substantially from year to year,there is,naturally,a lot of variability in the annual measures of system reliability over time. For Avista, weather-related outages tend to have a predominant impact on the reliability of its system. This is because individual weather events often impact substantial portions of the system Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 13 and can result in damage to many types of facilities. Weather caused outages, particularly from high winds, ice, and snow, can also require substantial effort and time to restore. These storm events can result in many customers being without service for an extended period of time.Because the impact of weather events on system reliability is common to all electric systems, the industry has adopted standardized adjustments that remove outages related to weather events of a certain magnitude from the calculation of results for outage frequency and duration. This threshold level of severity is referred to as a Major Event Day or ("MED"). The outages caused by any storm event that qualifies as MED are removed from the data used to calculate the utility's annual reliability results. Although the year-to-year variability in outage duration is substantially reduced by the adjustment for major events,there can still be a substantial weather impact on the reliability results we report each year. This is the result of storms that,while not qualifying as major events, still result in substantial system outages. The important point of this discussion is that the reliability results for any single year, considered in isolation, do not provide a meaningful measure of the overall reliability of the utility's system, or an assessment of whether the performance that year was "acceptable" or "unacceptable". The reliability performance of our system (or any utility system) should be evaluated over the long term as the basis for evaluating whether our reliability is trending stably, improving, or degrading.12 Avista has agreed to report its annual reliability results to its customers in the context of its historic five-year rolling average. This approach helps our customers better understand how each year's reliability results fit into our long-term trend in overall system reliability. Measure 1: Number of Electric System Outages y The Company will report its annual electric system reliability measure for the number of non-major storm �. power outages experienced per customer for the year (SA IFI).13 JJ 2025 Results — This measure, as noted earlier, represents r how often, on average, an Avista electric customer experienced a sustained14 service outage during the year. This measure is calculated by adding the total number of customer outages recorded for the year, divided by the total number of customers served by the Company in that year. The result of 0.94 outage per customer for 2025 is below the average value for the previous five-year period (2021-2025) of .96, as well as for the current five-year period (2021-2025) of 0.94. For 2025, the Idaho-only SAIFI result was 1.20 outages per customer. This increase is largely attributable to vegetation-related outages, equipment-related outages, and localized weather events that did not meet MED criteria. The company will continue to implement targeted mitigation and reliability improvement programs to reduce outage frequency. 12 This is similar to the approach now used by the California Public Utilities Commission to evaluate electric utilities' system reliability. In: Approaches to Setting Electric Distribution Reliability Standards and Outcomes,pages 130 - 136.The Brattle Group,Ltd.2012. 13 See Avista's electric tariff Schedule 85 for further specifics regarding this measure. 1a Any service interruption that is greater than five minutes in duration. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 14 Table No. 10—Number of Electric System Outages for the Average Avista Customer in 2025 Number of Outages 2025 er stem Results 5 Year for the Average Avista Custom &M I I Average Number of sustained interruptions in 0.94 0.96 0.010 electric service for the average Avista per Customer Per Customer Per Customer customer for the year(SAIFI) Measure 2: Average Duration of Electric System Outages II The Company will report its annual electric system j reliability measure for the total duration of non-major storm power outages experienced per customer for the year (SAID I).1 s 2025 Results—This measure,as noted earlier,represents the average duration or length of outages for the year. Outage i duration (SAIDI) is calculated by summing all of the customer outage time occurring in the year, divided by the total number of customers served by the utility in that year. On a system-wide basis, the 2025 outage duration was 150 minutes. As shown in Table No. 11 below, the current five-year average of 141 minutes (2021-2025) is 3.65 minutes more than the average for the prior five-year period (2020-2024). The Idaho-only outage duration was 208.45 minutes for 2025. The overall change is in alignment with historical patterns for the region, where service territory characteristics can contribute to longer restoration times. Avista continues to focus on improving infrastructure to increase the reliability of electric service,in addition to responding to unplanned outages as quickly and safely as possible. Table No. 11 — Outage Duration for the Average Avista Customer in 2025 Total1 1 i I CustomerAvista I I Average5 Year 5 Year AveragJ Total duration of all electric service 150 141 3.65 outages for the average Avista customer for the year(SAIDI) Minutes Minutes Minutes is See Avista's electric tariff Schedule 85 for further specifics regarding this measure. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 15 V. Customer Service Guarantees Avista's Idaho Service Quality Program includes seven types of service for which Avista provides "Customer Service Guarantees". Our service commitments under these Guarantees recognize the customer inconvenience that may t result when our delivered service does not meet our stated goal. In such cases, we will provide our customers with a bill credit or payment in the amount of$50 in recognition of that inconvenience.All costs associated with the payment of ~ these Guarantees are paid by Avista's shareholders, and are not paid by our customers, or included in the rates they pay for service. CompanyThe •• .88%of its applicable service commitments for 2025, Guarantee 1: Keeping Electric and Natural Gas Service Appointments The Company will keep mutually agreed upon appointments for electric or natural gas service, scheduled in the time windows of either 8:00 a.m. — 12:00 p.m. or 12:00 p.m. —5:00 p.m.16 Avista provides its customers with appointments for certain types of electric and natural gas service requests. For electric service, the Company will schedule appointments for service drops and/or disconnects. For all other electric service work, the customer does not need to be present for the Company to perform the required work (i.e., check meter, meter test, voltage check, etc.). For natural gas service, the Company provides appointments for dealer-requested service, meter exchange and tests,meter unlock,no-heat inspections,reconnects,relighting of Avista repairs, and repeated pilot light outages on natural gas appliances. Avista offers multiple types of natural gas service appointments because the customer must be present for our employees to complete the work since they must enter the customer's home. If the requested date and/or time of the service request is unavailable, the Company will still do its best to work with the customer's request but will not commit to a specific time that an employee will arrive to work on the service request. Often times,this practice results in better customer satisfaction as the Company makes every effort to accommodate a customer's request on that day, rather than schedule the work on a future date. Finally, new service connections and credit reconnects are not available for appointments, as the work orders are completed on the same day as the request. 2025 Results — In 2025, the Company effectively maintained 99.76% of its 1,237 scheduled customer appointments for applicable electric and natural gas service in Idaho, issuing three Guarantee credits for the year. The primary factor contributing to missed appointments continues to be the occurrence of emergency work orders during the day, which can prevent the Company from adhering to its scheduled appointment times. Given the risks associated with electric and gas 16 See Avista's tariff Schedules 85 (electric) 185 (natural gas)for further specifics regarding this Guarantee. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 16 emergencies,the Company prioritizes these emergency orders over scheduled service work.While this prioritization is essential for ensuring public safety, it occasionally results in the Company missing a few appointments, as reflected in the 2025 results. Table No. 12—Avista Service Appointment Results for 2025 Customer Service Guaran $Paid 'WR Successful Missed Keeping electric and natural gas service 1,234 3 $150 appointments scheduled with our customers Guarantee 2: Prompt Restoration of Electric System Outage When customers experience an electric interruption, the Company will restore the service within 24 hours of notification from the customer.17 The Company strives to restore power to its customers as quickly as possible, while maintaining the safety of our employees, customers, and the public as our top priority. Electric system outages are intricate and can happen at any time, day or night, throughout the year. In many years, even in cases where Avista does not experience any storms that qualify as major events, it may still be impossible for the Company to restore service to all customers within 24 hours. 2025 Results—In 2025,Avista's Idaho customers encountered a total of 6,873 outage events,with five events not restored within 24 hours. The vast majority of outages were resolved within 24 hours, resulting in a success rate of 99.93%. The Company is pleased to maintain its high success rate in swiftly restoring power to its customers within the 24-hour timeframe, ensuring minimal disruption and enhancing overall customer satisfaction. Table No. 13—Avista's Outage Restoration Results for 2025 Custom Successful $ Restore service within 24 hours of a customer 6,868 5 $250 reporting an outage(excluding major storm events) Guarantee 3: Promptly Turning on Electric or Natural Gas Service Upon Request The Company will turn on power or connect natural gas service the same day the customer or applicant requests service.18 When customers request electric or natural gas service from Avista, they have a reasonable expectation that their service will be turned on as quickly as possible, or promptly on a future date they request. The Company strives to meet these customer expectations by all reasonable means. Typically, the electric or natural gas meter is not shut off between customers, so when a customer moves to a new location the service is already on when they open an account for service at the new 17 See Avista's electric tariff Schedule 85 for further specifics regarding this Guarantee. is See Avista's tariff Schedules 85 (electric) 185 (natural gas)for further specifics regarding this Guarantee. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 17 address. In situations where the service is not already on at a customer location,the Company must send an employee to reconnect the meter. 2025 Results —Avista met its benchmark for same-day service requests, completing 4,025 turn- ons. This benchmark reflects an overall improvement from previous years with a 100% success rate. As reflected in Table No. 14, all services were energized within one business day of receiving the request, demonstrating consistent adherence to the Customer Service Guarantee. Table No. 14—Avista Turning on Service the Same Day for 2025 MissedCustomer Service Guarantee 4A , essful Aio Turn on power within a business day of receiving the request 4,025 0 $0 Guarantee 4: Promptly Providing Cost Estimates to Customers for New Service The Company will provide a cost estimate to the customer or applicant for new electric or natural gas supply within 10 business days upon receipt of all the necessary information from the customer/applicant. When constructing a new home, the process for providing new electric or natural gas supply can be complex, and may involve a customer, contractor,electrician,or dealer depending on the nature of the new service. A request for new electric or natural gas service is typically routed through our customer contact center and is assigned to one of our employee Customer Project Coordinators (CPCs) in our natural gas or electric construction areas. Our CPCs are responsible for discussing the request with the customer (Applicant), meeting with the customer at the location, designing the service, and then providing the customer with a cost estimate for the required construction. The Company's goal for completing the cost estimate, for which it offers a Customer Service Guarantee, is 10 business days. 2025 Results — In 2025, the Company received 1,454 requests for new electric or natural gas service. Impressively, Avista successfully delivered cost estimates for each request within 10 business days of receipt, achieving a success rate of 100%. This accomplishment marks the sixth consecutive year, since the Company's inception of reporting these Guarantees in 2019, in which Avista has maintained a flawless success rate of 100%. Table No. 15—Avista Providing Customers a Cost Estimate for New Service in 2025 Customer Service Guarantee Successful Missed $Paid Provide a cost estimate for new electric or natural gas 1,454 0 $0 service within 10 business days of receiving the request Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 18 Guarantee 5: Promptly Responding to Customers' Bill Inquiries The Company will respond to most billing inquiries at the time of the initial contact, and for those inquiries that require further investigation, the Company will investigate and respond to the customer within 10 business days. For a customer, it can be difficult to understand why the amount of their energy bill can vary, sometimes substantially, from month to month. Some of these factors include variability in weather, changes in rates, the result of an estimated bill amount in certain circumstances, and variation in the number of billing days included in the billing period. When customers have questions about their bill,Avista's CSRs strive to address and resolve all inquiries during the initial customer contact. Some of the tools Avista employees have to address such bill inquiries (which are generally related to circumstances when customers feel their bill is too high), include: ✓ Review the meter read and usage history to see if the bill is in line with the prior months or years. ✓ Review the number of billing days for the bill in question. ✓ Utilize the Company's bill analyzer tool,which is also available to customers on Avista's website, for a comparison of weather, average usage, and rates. ✓ Discuss with the customer any life changes, new appliances, or maintenance needs and how those can impact their utility bill. ✓ Offer tips on ways to save energy. ✓ Direct the customer to Avista's website for additional energy savings advice. ✓ Offer to mail Energy Use and Savings Guides or Energy Savings kits. If the CSR is unable to address the billing inquiry during the initial contact or the customer is not satisfied with the information provided, the Company will open a case to further investigate the customer's inquiry.After a case has been created,Avista will verify the meter read or obtain a new meter read to double-check the accuracy of the metered use, and, if a billing error is found to have occurred, the CSR will initiate sending a corrected bill. After determining the accuracy of the bill, the CSR will discuss the inquiry again with the customer, along with the results of the verification of the meter read or new meter read. Typically, this process resolves the customer's issue. In situations where the customer is not satisfied and/or requests a meter test to ensure their meter is reading accurately, a separate procedure is triggered, which is covered by Customer Service Guarantee number six below, "Promptly Responding to Customers' Meter Problems." 2025 Results—The Company successfully investigated and responded within 10 business days to all 242 billing inquiries in 2025 that were not resolved on initial contact. Avista has achieved 100% success rate for the last 5 years. These results are detailed in Table No. 16. Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 19 Table No. 16—Avista Responding to Customer's Bill Inquiries in 2025 Customer Service Guarantee Successful �Iisse .ApPaid Investigate and respond to a billing inquiry within 10 242 0 $0 business days if unable to resolve via first contact 7 Guarantee 6: Promptly Responding to Customers' Meter Problems The Company will investigate customer-reported problems with a meter, or conduct a meter test, and report the results to the customer within 20 business days. Customer concerns about meter performance and accuracy are addressed through timely investigation and communication when a customer reports a meter problem or requests a meter test. Providing clear results within a defined timeframe helps customers understand how their energy usage is being measured and supports confidence in the accuracy of billing. Commission rules, together with Avista's tariff Schedule 170 for natural gas service, establish the Company's meter testing requirements 2025 Results— In 2025, 103 of Avista's Idaho customers reported a meter problem or requested the Company conduct a meter test. Avista successfully tested and reported the results to all customers within 20 business days, for a success rate of 100%. Table No. 17—Avista Resolving Meter Problems in 2025 Customer Service Guarantee Successful Missed 1$ 2id _J Investigate a reported meter problem or conduct a meter 103 0 $0 test and report the results within 20 business days Guarantee 7: Providing Customers Advance Notice of Scheduled Electric Interruptions The Company will provide notification to the customer, through means normally used by the Company, at least 24 hours in advance of disconnecting service for scheduled interruptions.19 Advance notice of a planned electric interruption is important so customers have time to prepare for a temporary loss of service and take steps to reduce potential impacts. This measure reflects the Company's commitment to proactively contacting customers at least 24 hours ahead of a planned outage, rather than customers learning of an interruption at the time service is affected. Providing this advance notification requires coordination across multiple areas of the Company, including natural gas construction, electric operations, customer project coordinators, asset maintenance program managers, distribution dispatch, service dispatch, and the customer contact center. To support timely and accurate notification, the Company maintains multiple checkpoints "See Avista's electric tariff Schedule 85 for further specifics regarding this Guarantee. Avista Utilities-2025 Idaho Service Quality Program Report 20 within its business processes to ensure all affected customers are notified in advance of a planned outage. 2025 Results — In 2025, Avista successfully notified 16,305 out of 16,334 Idaho customers affected by scheduled service interruptions,achieving a success rate of 99.82%.The results remain consistent with historical performance continuing to improve and reflect the company's ongoing commitment to refining advance notification processes while reducing internal errors. For the 29 customers who did not receive advance notice, Avista provided a $50 credit, totaling $1,450, to address the missed notifications. Avista acknowledges the significance of this benchmark and remains committed to refining and enhancing its prior notification processes to better serve its customers. Table No. 18—Avista's Customers Notified in Advance of an Electric Service Interruption in 2025 Wcustomer Service Guarante�� Successful Missed $Paid Notify customers at least 24 hours in advance of a 16,305 29 $1,450 planned power outage lasting longer than 5 minutes Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 21 Appendix A— Service Quality Program Report Card ID 2025 Service Quality Program Results Customer Service Measures Benchmark 2024 Performance Achieved Percent of customers satisfied with our Contact Center services, / based on surrey results At least 90% 98.0% V/ Percent of customers satisfied with field services,based on survey results At least 90% 93.0% Percent of calls answered live within 60 seconds by our Contact / Center At least 80% 82.8% ✓ Average time from customer call to arrival of field technicians in No more than 65 / response to electric system emergencies,per year minutes 52.6 minutes V Average time from customer call to arrival of field technicians in No more than 55 / response to natural gas system emergencies,per year minutes 38 minutes V 5-Year Average 2025 Result Change in Electric System Reliability (2021-2025) 5-Year Average Frequency of non-major-storm power interruptions,per year,per 0.96 0.94 0.010 customer(SAIFI) Length of power outages per year,per customer(SAIDI) 141 150 3.65 Customer Service Guarantees 00 Successful Missed $$Paid Electric&Natural Gas service appointments 1,234 3 $150 Electric outage restoration within 24 hours of notification from 6,868 5 $250 Customer,excluding major events Switch on power or connect gas services the same day of request 4,025 0 $0 Provide cost estimate for new electric or natural gas supply within 10 business days 1,454 0 $0 Investigate and respond to billing inquiries with 10 business days 242 0 $0 Investigate customer-reported problems with a meter,or conduct a meter test,and report results within 20 business days 103 0 $0 Provide notification at least 24 hours in advance of disconnecting 16,305 29 $1,450 service for scheduled electric interruptions Totalsl 30,231 1 37 1 $1,850 For the program year of 2025,Avista has exceeded all of the Customer Service Measures.The percentages of customers satified with our Contact Center and field services are 98%and 93%respectfully.We celebrate 100%success for Switch on power or connect gas services the same day of request,Responding to billing inquires within 10 businees days as well as conducting meter tests.Overall numbers reflect 99.88%success rate.Total of 30,231 success with only 37 missed for 2025.Avista is committed to serving our customers as reflected in our high overall success rate for these guarantees.We continue our mission of improving our customers'lives through innovative energy solutions by providing safe,affordable,and reliable service now and into the future. Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 22 Appendix B -Definitions and Index Calculations System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI): The average number of sustained interruptions per customer, per year • = The number of customers which had sustained interruptions Total number of customers served IN, NT NT System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI): The average sustained outage time per customer,per year • = Outage duration multiplied by the customers effected, for all sustained interruptions Total number of customers served NT Quantities: i= An interruption event; rl = Restoration time for each interruption event; T= Total; IDE = Number of interrupting device events; Ni= Number of interrupted customers for each interruption event during the reporting period; NT= Total number of customers served for the area being indexed; Maior Event Day (MEM A day in which the daily system SAIDI exceeds a threshold value, TMED. For the purposes of calculating daily system SAIDI, any interruption that spans multiple calendar days is accrued to the day on which the interruption began. Statistically, days having a daily system SAIDI greater than TMED are days on which the energy delivery system experienced stresses beyond that normally expected (such as severe weather). Activities that occur on major event days should be separately analyzed and reported. The purpose of MED is to allow major events to be studied separately from daily operation, and in the process, to better reveal trends in daily operation that would be hidden by the large statistical effect of major events. TMED is calculated(taken from the IEEE 1366-2003 Standard) The major event day identification threshold value,TMED,is calculated at the end of each reporting period (typically one year) for use during the next reporting period as follows: a) Collect values of daily SAIDI for five sequential years ending on the last day of the last complete reporting period. If fewer than five years of historical data are available, use all available historical data until five years of historical data are available. b) Only those days that have a SAIDI/Day value will be used to calculate the TMED(do not include days that did not have any interruptions). c) Take the natural logarithm(In) of each daily SAIDI value in the data set. Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 23 d)Find a(Alpha),the average of the logarithms(also known as the log-average)of the data set. e) Find b (Beta), the standard deviation of the logarithms (also known as the log-standard deviation) of the data set. f) Compute the major event day threshold, TMED, using equation(25). TMED= e(a+2.5b) g) Any day with daily SAIDI greater than the threshold value TMED that occurs during the subsequent reporting period is classified as a major event day. Activities that occur on days classified as major event days should be separately analyzed and reported. When an event has reached the threshold to constitute a MED described in subpart (f) above, all outage incidents associated with the MED will be flagged in the Company's Outage Management Tool. As the Company further assesses damage in the field while making repairs, new subsequent outage incidents that were a result of the MED may be created as more accurate information is made available. The subsequent incidents will be flagged and included as part of the original outage event and MED. Avista Utilities-2025 Tdaho Service Quality Program Report 24