20260605Application.pdf

I ,1
Avista Corp. RECEIVED
1411 East Mission Ave., P.O. Box 3727 JUNE 5, 2026
Spokane, WA 99220-0500 IDAHO PUBLIC
p UTILITIES COMMISSION
Telephone: [phone]
Toll Free: 800-227-9187
June 5, 2026
Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
11331 W. Chinden Blvd
Building 8, Suite 201-A
Boise, ID 83714
Re: Case No. AVU-E-26-08 & AVU-G-26-04 - Application of Avista Corporation For an
Accounting Order Authorizing a Carrying Charge on Balances Associated with the
Company's Demand Side Management Programs
Commission Secretary:
Avista Corporation, doing business as Avista Utilities (Avista or the Company), hereby submits
for electronic filing with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, its application for an accounting
order authorizing a carrying charge on balances associated with the Company's demand side
management programs. If you have any questions regarding this filing,please contact me at(509)
495-2782 or shawn.bonfield(aavistacorp.com.
Sincerely,
Shawn Bonfield
Sr. Manager of Regulatory Policy& Strategy

I ANNIGLOGOVAC
2 ISB #13010
3 COUNSEL, LEGAL DEPARTMENT
4 AVISTA CORPORATION
5 P.O. BOX 3727, MSC 33
6 1411 EAST MISSION AVENUE
7 SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 99220-3727
8 TELEPHONE: [phone]
9 EMAIL: [e-mail]
10
11
12 BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
13
14 ) CASE NO. AVU-E-26-08
15 IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION ) CASE NO. AVU-G-26-04
16 OF AVISTA CORPORATION FOR AN )
17 ACCOUNTING ORDER AUTHORIZING A ) APPLICATION OF AVISTA
18 CARRYING CHARGE ON BALANCES ) CORPORATION FOR A
19 ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY'S ) CARRYING CHARGE ON DSM
20 DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS ) BALANCES
21 )
22
23 I. INTRODUCTION
24 Avista Corporation doing business as Avista Utilities ("Avista" or the "Company"), at
25 1411 East Mission Avenue, Spokane, Washington, pursuant to Idaho Code § 61-524 and
26 IDAPA 31.01.01, Rules of Procedure ("RP"), Rule 52, et. seq., of the Idaho Public Utilities
27 Commission(PUC or"Commission"),hereby respectfully requests that the Commission issue
28 an order authorizing the Company to incorporate a carrying charge, at the rate set forth in the
29 Commission's annual determination of the interest rate on deposits collected from utility
30 customers("Customer Deposit Rate"),' on the unamortized balances related to the Company's
31 tariff Schedule 91 and 191, "Energy Efficiency Rider Adjustment—Idaho". The incorporation
32 of a carrying charge within Avista's Schedule 91 and 191 is in alignment with the demand side
33 management (DSM) tariffs of all other Idaho investor-owned utilities governed by the PUC.
' Most recently approved via Order No. 36836 in Case No. GNR-U-25-01; the Commission-approved interest
rate for 2026 is 4.0%.
Application of Avista Corporation Page 1
Case Nos. AVU-E-26-08 and AVU-G-26-04

I The Company requests that this interest rate be applied effective January 1, 2026 for Schedule
2 91 and 191 balances and amortizations, to be updated each year based on the Commission's
3 newest annual rate approval.
4 Avista is a utility that provides service to approximately 423,000 retail electric
5 customers and 383,000 natural gas customers in a 30,000 square-mile service territory covering
6 portions of northern Idaho, eastern Washington, and Oregon. The largest community served
7 by Avista is Spokane, Washington, which is the location of its corporate headquarters. The
8 Company requests that all correspondence related to this Application be directed to:
9 Anni Glogovac Shawn Bonfield
10 Counsel for Regulatory Affairs Sr. Manager, Regulatory Policy& Strategy
11 Avista Corporation Avista Corporation
12 P.O. Box 3727 P.O. Box 3727
13 1411 E. Mission Avenue, MSC 27 1411 E. Mission Avenue, MSC 27
14 Spokane, Washington 99220-3727 Spokane, Washington 99220-3727
15 Telephone: [phone] Telephone: [phone]
16 E-mail: anni.glo og vac(kavistacorp.com E-mail: shawn.bonfield&avistacorp.com
17
18 Avista Dockets (Electronic Only) - AvistaDocketskavistacorp.com
19
20 II. BACKGROUND
21 On February 13, 2026, Avista filed proposed revisions to its Schedule 91 rates with the
22 Commission (Case No. AVU-E-26-01), requesting an increase of approximately 7.4 percent
23 (%) over the current billed rates, to become effective May 1, 2026, intended to rectify the
24 existing underfunded tariff balance and continue to adequately fund the Company's Electric
25 Energy Efficiency Program into the future. Based on a recommendation from Commission
26 Staff, as filed in Staff s April 10, 2026 comments,the Company modified its original recovery
27 request, extending from a 30-month to a 36-month forecast and recovery period, thereby
28 resulting in a 6.6% increase rather than 7.4%. To accommodate this change, Avista submitted
29 an updated tariff and associated workpapers as part of its April 17, 2026 comments.
Application of Avista Corporation Page 2
Case Nos. AVU-E-26-08 and AVU-G-26-04

I On May 1, 2026, the Commission issued its Order No. 37025 in this case, granting an
2 increase in Avista's electric Schedule 91 subject to the modification that the increase is a 3.3%
3 increase in overall billed rates.The Company submitted a compliance filing in accordance with
4 this Order that same day,which was approved effective May 1,2026 via Final Order No. 37047
5 on May 27, 2026.
6
7 III. PROPOSED CARRYING COSTS
8 As a result of the aforementioned Order in Case No. AVU-E-26-01,Avista's Schedule
9 91 DSM tariff rider maintained an unamortized balance of nearly $28.5 million,2 which will
10 only continue to grow based on the current rate set for recovery.3 Avista must finance that
11 recovered amount until it is returned through rates, and such financing comes at a cost of both
12 debt and equity given the longer term nature of the proposed recovery. Without a carrying
13 charge, customers receive the benefit of deferred recovery while the Company alone absorbs
14 the financing cost associated with the Commission-authorized DSM expenditures incurred for
15 customer benefit. The Company believes that including the cost of money is appropriate to
16 include in the deferral and future recovery from customers.
17 In addition, the Company remains the only PUC-regulated utility whose DSM tariff
18 rider does include a carrying charge. Approval of this Application would eliminate that
19 disparity and align Avista's treatment with the established regulatory approach already applied
20 to comparable DSM riders in Idaho. The Company's proposal seeks application of the same
2 As of May 2026; see Avista's workpapers for its May 1,2026 compliance filing in Case No.AVU-E-26-01.
3 As previously described, the 6.6% increase recommended by Staff, and agreed to by Avista, was the amount
required to nullify the existing underfunded balance for Schedule 91 within a 36-month forecasted timespan.The
approval of half of this requested amount will not result in alleviation of the balance and will,in effect,continue
to compound any future energy efficiency expenditures,as the rate of recovery is not set at an amount appropriate
to cover both the underfunded existing balance nor the addition of any forecasted future spend. See Avista's
workpapers for its May 1, 2026 compliance filing in Case No. AVU-E-26-01, which provides a forecasted
underfunded balance of nearly$33.5 million at the end of March 2029 based on the 3.3%approved recovery rate.
Application of Avista Corporation Page 3
Case Nos. AVU-E-26-08 and AVU-G-26-04

I Commission-approved Customer Deposit Rate to existing and future Schedule 91 and 191
2 balances, with annual updates through the Commission's ordinary process. Use of that rate
3 provides a familiar, administratively simple, and conservative benchmark that reasonably
4 compensates Avista for the financing cost of deferred recovery without overstating the relief
5 requested. Commission approval of this Application will alleviate some of the financial
6 pressures of the unrecovered Schedule 91 balance and therefore temper the need to file any
7 further requests for ratemaking or deferral treatment of this balance. The Company will then
8 file its next request for a prudence determination (for the 2025 program year) no later than
9 September 1, 2026, with a subsequent rate adjustment request for Schedule 91 filed shortly
10 thereafter.
11 Finally, the inclusion of a cost of capital on deferral balances for other Avista
12 mechanisms is "the norm", not the exception, due in part to the recognition that there is a cost
13 of financing. The Company currently receives the Customer Deposit Rate on balances
14 associated with its Power Cost Adjustment Mechanism, Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment
15 Mechanism, and Fixed Cost Adjustment Mechanism.
16
17 IV. CONCLUSION AND REQUEST FOR RELIEF
18 Accordingly, Avista respectfully requests that the Commission approve its request for
19 a carrying charge, equivalent to the Customer Deposit Rate approved by the Commission
20 annually, to be applied to the Company's DSM tariff rider Schedule 91 and 191 balances and
21 amortizations, effective January 1, 2026, with this Application processed under the
22 Commission's Modified Procedure Rules through the use of written comments.
23
24
Application of Avista Corporation Page 4
Case Nos. AVU-E-26-08 and AVU-G-26-04

I Dated this 5th day of June 2026.
2 AVISTA CORPORATION
3
4 By •
5 Patrick Ehrbar
6 Director of Regulatory Affairs
7 Avista Corporation
Application of Avista Corporation Page 5
Case Nos. AVU-E-26-08 and AVU-G-26-04