20170724AVU to Staff 15.doc

AVISTA CORPORATION
RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

JURISDICTION: IDAHO DATE PREPARED: 07/17/2017
CASE NO: AVU-E-17-01/AVU-G-17-01 WITNESS: Heather Rosentrater
REQUESTER: IPUC – Terry RESPONDER: Neil Thorson
TYPE: Production Request DEPARTMENT: Financial Planning & Analysis
REQUEST NO.: Staff - 015 TELEPHONE: [phone]

REQUEST:

In Company witness Rosentrater’s testimony page 16, Table No. 1, it shows that nearly one third of the new capital project for distribution is labeled “Customer Request – New Revenue – Growth.” Please provide the amounts of any customer contributions to those projects, and show where the effects of those contributions are stated in the Company’s case.

RESPONSE:

The capital investment associated with new revenue growth within the “Customer Requested” is, as discussed by Ms. Rosentrater, defined as:

“customer requests for new service connections, line extensions, transmission interconnections, or system reinforcements to serve a customer.” The related capital construction activities are typically limited to the electric distribution system, but may extend to substations and dedicated high voltage transmission lines.

The investment amounts included in the referenced table are the investment costs borne by Avista as a result of customer requests for connection—that is, this investment represents Avista’s cost of connecting a new customer, net of customer contributions. Customer contributions is estimated to reduce growth capital spending annually by approximately 20.8%.
Heather L. Rosentrater’s Testimony, page 23, lines 12-17.