20160405press release.pdf

Case No. AVU-E-16-01, AVU-G-16-01, Order No. 33494
Contact: Gene Fadness [phone], 890-2712
www.puc.idaho.gov

Convenience fee for Avista customers is going away

BOISE (April 1, 2016) – A $3.50 convenience fee paid by residential customers of Avista Utilities
will soon be going away. The fee is charged by a third-party vendor when Avista electric or
natural gas customers pay their bills online or by telephone.

Avista received approval from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to process the online and
telephonic payments on its own, something the utility says it can do for as little as $1.50 per
transaction.

According to Avista, the convenience fee is “one of the largest frustrations” expressed by the
utility’s growing number of customers who pay electronically or by telephone. Only about 38
percent of customers mailed in payments in 2015, with the rest paying online or over the
telephone. Avista serves about 125,000 electric and 80,000 natural gas customers in northern
Idaho.

Avista estimates it will cost about $195,000 per year to process the payments for its Idaho
electric customers and $120,000 per year for natural gas customers. Avista will defer and
record the costs it incurs to process the payments for possible inclusion in a later rate case. It
will also file a report with the commission every six months detailing program expense and
customer participation levels.

The utility has also received approval in its Washington and Oregon jurisdictions to eliminate
the fee.

A copy of the commission’s final order as well as other documents related to this case is
available on the commission’s website at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on “Open Cases” under the
“Electric” heading and scroll down to Case No. AVU-E-16-01.

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