20200430Report.pdf

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Avista Corp. 1411 East Mission P.O. Box 3727 -0500
-489-0500
-727-9170

April 30, 2020 State of Idaho Idaho Public Utilities Commission
11331 W. Chinden Blvd Bldg 8 Suite 201-A Boise, ID 83714 Attention: Ms. Diane Hanian, Secretary
Re: Case Nos. AVU-E-16-01 and AVU-G-16-01 – Avista Utilities Q1 2020 Fee-Free Payment Program Report Dear Ms. Hanian:
Attached for filing with the Commission is an electronic copy of Avista Corporation’s,
dba Avista Utilities (“Avista” or “the Company”) Q1 2020 Fee-Free Payment Program Report.
On April 1, 2016 the Commission issued Order No. 33494 in Case Nos. AVU-E-16-01
and AVU-G-16-01 approving Avista’s petition for an order authorizing accounting and
ratemaking treatment of its residential fee-free payment program. In its petition, the Company
sought to defer the costs associated with offering the fee-free payment for up to 36 months from
the time the program went into effect. The fee-free payment program was successfully launched
February 19, 2017.
In its petition, the Company agreed to provide updates to the Commission every six
months about the program’s progress. In the Company’s Washington and Oregon jurisdictions
we agreed to provide updates to the Commission every three months. For consistency across
jurisdictions and ease of reporting, the Company will be providing updates to the Idaho
Commission every three months that coincide with the quarters of the calendar year.
RECEIVED
2020 April 30,AM8:47
IDAHO PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION

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Avista’s residential fee-free payment program encompasses previous methods of
payments that were assessed a fee or not available. The program includes the following payment
methods and channels:
• Credit and debit card payments made through a Customer Service Representative
(CSR), through the Company’s Integrated Voice Recognition (IVR) system, through
its website as a one-time guest payment, through its website as an authenticated user
and for Automatic Payment Service (APS) payments.
• Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments made through a CSR, through the
Company’s IVR system, and through its website as a one-time guest payment.

Prior to the launch of the program, customers could make payments free of charge by
ACH when making an electronic payment through the Company’s website as an authenticated
user, or when signed up for APS payments, in which payments are automatically deducted from
their checking or savings account. Also, prior to the launch of the program APS payments were
limited to only ACH payment methods.

Tables No. 1 and No. 2 below represent the residential payment information for the
Company’s Idaho customers by month for 2019 and 2020. Note that these tables represent only
residential payments and that some forms of non-residential customer payments are still assessed
a fee.

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Table No. 1 - 2019
Payments January February March April May June July August September October November December Total
Total Payments 116,220 102,194 108,342 107,152 111,942 100,012 110,632 107,072 106,612 113,065 99,414 118,564 1,301,221
Fiserv Payments 61,826 56,360 59,157 58,307 62,222 53,637 60,843 59,895 60,407 63,280 55,541 68,912 720,387
Fee-Free Fiserv 28,610 26,305 27,991 28,213 29,685 26,051 29,192 29,126 30,343 31,257 27,703 34,752 349,228
Fee-Free Payments as % of Total 24.6%25.7%25.8%26.3%26.5%26.0%26.4%27.2%28.5%27.6%27.9%29.3%26.8%
Table No. 2 – 2020
Payments January February March April May June July August September October November December Total
Total Payments 114,455 109,221 122,276 345,952
Fiserv Payments 64,724 63,853 72,968 201,545
Fee-Free Fiserv 33,857 33,237 37,143 104,237
Fee-Free Payments as % of Total 29.6%30.4%30.4%30.1%

Tables No. 3 and 4 below include additional detail on certain payment channels. This information is highlighted to monitor trends in
customers’ payment behavior. Note that the data in Tables No. 1 and 2 will not subtotal to the data in Tables No. 3 and 4 as there is overlap in
payment information by channel (i.e., “Total Card Payments” includes card payments made through APS, CSRs, the IVR, and web).

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Table No. 3 - 2019
Payment Method January February March April May June July August September October November December Total
APS by ACH 18,449 16,729 17,482 16,847 18,485 16,022 18,831 18,092 16,846 19,196 16,616 19,919 213,514
APS by Debit or Credit Card 5,594 5,156 5,663 5,537 6,246 5,560 6,631 6,594 6,264 7,517 6,738 8,419 75,919
Total APS Payments 24,043 21,885 23,145 22,384 24,731 21,582 25,462 24,686 23,110 26,713 23,354 28,338 289,433
Total Card Payments 26,921 24,828 26,380 26,553 27,933 24,541 27,548 27,465 28,620 29,610 26,276 32,890 329,565
CSR Payments 2,791 2,507 2,910 3,040 2,956 2,510 2,485 2,394 2,610 2,506 2,115 2,590 31,414
IVR Payments 4,967 4,544 4,818 4,946 5,074 4,514 4,897 4,751 5,432 5,477 4,828 5,620 59,868
Bank Bill Payments 18,232 15,736 16,729 16,676 17,192 16,243 17,228 16,434 15,858 16,955 14,640 18,003 199,926
Mailed & Lobby Payments 31,076 26,042 27,947 27,725 28,345 26,219 28,650 26,991 26,453 28,830 23,903 26,972 329,153
Pay Station Payments 3,845 3,498 3,944 3,760 3,850 3,480 3,615 3,406 3,551 3,502 2,959 3,281 42,691
Web Based Payments 29,972 27,381 28,231 27,862 29,361 24,959 27,921 27,980 29,174 28,517 25,198 32,245 338,801
Table No. 4 - 2020

Payment Method January February March April May June July August September October November December Total
APS by ACH 17,012 17,612 21,600 56,224
APS by Debit or Credit Card 7,207 7,724 9,762 24,693
Total APS Payments 24,219 25,336 31,362 80,917
Total Card Payments 31,951 31,444 35,116 98,511
CSR Payments 2,782 2,742 2,533 8,057
IVR Payments 6,219 5,778 6,466 18,463
Bank Bill Payments 17,234 16,229 17,762 51,225
Mailed & Lobby Payments 28,112 25,139 27,426 80,677
Pay Station Payments 3,165 3,127 3,241 9,533
Web Based Payments 31,429 29,918 32,526 93,873

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For historical comparison purposes, Table No. 5 displays residential payment data from
2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Table No. 5
Year Fee Free Payments % of Total
2015 1,273,654 71,375 5.60%
2016 1,286,848 82,977 6.45%
2017 1,269,567 155,419 12.2%
2018 1,295,401 279,100 21.5%

Chart No. 1 graphically shows the trend in fee-free payments in 2020 compared to the
historical annual average in 2015 through 2019.

Chart No. 1

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To date, the Company has paid invoices through February 2020, of which $1,153,064 has
been deferred for customer transactions through the fee-free payment program.
Please Note: The deferral period for the fee-free payment program expired January 31
2020. The Company has deferred program costs through this date and therefore, this Quarterly
report will be the last report filed by the Company associated with Order No. 33494 in Case Nos.
AVU-E-16-01 and AVU-G-16-01.
Please direct any questions regarding this report to Joel Anderson at 509-495-2811
([e-mail]) or myself at 509-495-2782 ([e-mail])

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Sincerely,

/s/Shawn Bonfield
Shawn Bonfield
Sr. Manager of Regulatory Policy & Strategy Avista Utilities 509-495-2782 [e-mail]

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Definitions Automated Clearing House (ACH) – an electronic network for financial transactions in the United States. Payments made by checking or savings accounts. Automatic Payment Service (APS) – payment option by which a customer can sign up to have payments automatically deducted from their checking account, savings account, debit card, or credit card on their
bill due date each month. Bank Bill Payments – payments initiated through a customer’s bank account and transferred to the
Company via ACH. Card Payments – debit and credit card payments.
Customer Service Representative (CSR) – Avista employee who works in its Customer Service Department and answers customer phone calls. CSR Payments – payments taken by Avista’s Customer Service Representatives over the phone. Fiserv – Avista’s payment processing vendor as of February 19, 2017. Integrated Voice Recognition System (IVR) – Avista’s automated phone system a customer first reaches when calling the Company at 1-800-227-9187.
IVR Payments – payments received through the Company’s IVR system. Kubra – Avista’s payment processing vendor prior to February 19, 2017.
Mailed & Lobby Payments – payments mailed to the Company or taken in one of the Company’s lobbies located in Spokane, Washington, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, or Lewiston, Idaho. These also include payments
placed in drop boxes at the Company’s office centers. Pay Station Payments – payments made at authorized Company pay stations. Web Based Payments – payments made on the Company’s website.