20170914Press Release and Customer Notice.pdf

Avista Corp.
l4l I East Mission P.O. Box 3727
Spokane. Washington 99220-45A0
Telephone [phone]
Toll Free 800-727-9170
September 14,2017
State of Idaho
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472 W. Wbshington Street
Boise, Idaho 837 02-5983
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Case No. AVU-G-17-04/Advice No. 17-03-G
Attention: Ms. Diane Hanian
I.P.U.C. No. 27 - Natural Gas Service
Please find attached for filing with the Commission the actual form of Press Release and Customer
Notice issued in Case No. AVU-G-17-04. If you have any questions regarding this filing, please
contact Annette Brandon at [phone].
Ehrbar
Senior Manager, Rates & Tariffs
Enclosures
Contact:
Media: Casey Fielder (509) 49S,491 6 [e-mail]
lnvestors: Jason Lang (509) 49S,2930 [e-mail]
Avista 2417 Media Access [phone]
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Avista Requests Natural Gas Price Changes for ldaho Customers in
Annual Cost Adjustment Filings ':
Reguesfs would result in change in naturalgas prices effective Nov. 1, 2017 ,',.
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SPOKANE, Wash. - Sept. 1,2017,1:05 p.m. PST: Avista (NYSE: AVA) has made annual
rate adjustment filings with the ldaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC or Commission) that if
approved, are designed to increase overall naturalgas revenues by approximately $0.1 million
or 0.3 percent effective Nov. I ,2017. These annual filings are separate from the general rate
case request filed in June 2017 regarding base retail rates in ldaho, have no impact on the
company's earnings, and are not related to the proposed acquisition of Avista by Hydro One.
Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment (PGA)
The first rate adjustment is Avista's annual Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment (PGA). The PGA is
filed each year to balance the actual cost of wholesale natural gas purchased by Avista to serve
customers with the amount included in rates. This includes the natural gas commodity cost as
well as the cost to transport natural gas on interstate pipelines to Avista's local distribution
system. lf approved, Avista's request is designed to decrease natural gas revenues by $1.7
million or 2.7 percent.
The primary drivers for the requested PGA rate reduction include continued low natural gas
commodity costs due to the continued high production levels of natural gas, and a reduction in
the cost to transport natural gas to Avista's distribution system.
About 40 percent of an Avista natural gas customer's bill in ldaho is the combined cost of
purchasing natural gas on the wholesale market and transporting it to Avista's system. These
costs fluctuate up and down based on market prices, and are not marked up by Avista. The
remaining 60 percent covers the cost of delivering the natural gas - the equipment and people
needed to provide safe and reliable service.
Natural Gas Fixed Cost Adjustment
The second rate adjustment is related to Avista's natural gas fixed cost adjustment mechanism
(FCA). The FCA mechanism is designed to break the link between a utility's revenues and
customers' energy usage, Avista's actual revenue, based on therm sales, will vary, up or down,
from the level included in a general rate case and approved by the Commission. This could be
caused by changes in weather, energy conservation or the economy. Generally, under the FCA
Avista's natural gas revenues recorded each month based on the number of customers, rather
than therm sales. The difference between revenues based on sales and revenues based on the
number of customers is surcharged or rebated to customers beginning in the following year. For
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natural gas operations, the rate adjustment is designed to increase revenues by approximately
$1.8 million, or 3.0 percent. This rate adjustment is driven primarily by a lower level of customer
usage in 2016 due in part to a warmer than normal winter.
Customer Bills
lf the request is approved, Avista residential customers using an average of 61 therms per
month could expect their monthly bill to increase from $51.10 to $51.38, beginning Nov. 1,2017,
an increase of $0.28 or 0.6 percent.
PGA rate adjustments are generally applied based on a uniform cents per therm change for all
rate schedules. Because there are differences in the basic charges and energy charges
between the various rate schedules, the PGA percentage decreases for each customer rate
schedule are different. The increase related to the FCA filing, however, is 3.0% for Schedule
101 and Schedule 1 1 1.
The net effect of the requested natural gas rate changes by rate schedule are:
General Service - Schedule 101
Large General Service - Schedules 111 & 112
lnterruptible Service - Schedules 131 & 132
Transportation Service - Schedule 146
Overall
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-0.8%
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Rate Application Procedure
Avista's applications are proposals, subject to public review and a Commission decision. Copies of
the applications are available for public review at the offices of both the Commission and Avista, and
on the Commission's website (www.puc.idaho.qov). Customers may file with the Commission written
comments related to Avista's filings. Customers may also subscribe to the Commission's RSS feed
(http://www.puc.idaho.oov/rssfeeds/rss.htm) to receive periodic updates via e-mail about the case.
Copies of rate filings are also available on Avista's website at www.mvavista.com/rates.
About Avista Gorp.
Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of
energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating division that
provides electric service to 378,000 customers and natural gas to 342,000 customers. lts
service tenitory covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northem ldaho and parts of
southern and eastem Oregon, with a population of 1.6 million. Alaska Energy and Resources
Company is an Avista subsidiary that provides retail electric service in the city and borough of
Juneau, Alaska, through its subsidiary Alaska Electric Liqht and Power Company. Avista stock
is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more information about Avista, please
visit www.avistacorp.com.
This news release contains fonrard-looking statements regarding the company's current
expectations. Fonrard-looking statements are all statements other than historicalfacts. Such
statements speak only as of the date of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks
and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control, which could cause actual
results to differ materially from the expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, in
addition to those discussed herein, all of the factors discussed in the company's Annual Report
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on Form 1GK for the year ended Dec. 31 , 2016 and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 2017.
SOURCE: Avista Corporation
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to [e-mail]
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lmportant Notice for ldaho Natural Gas
Customers (Septemberl0ctober 2A17)
Proposed Natural Gas Rate Adjustment to be Effective Nov. 1, 2017
Avisla has filed an annual natural gas rate request with the ldaho Public
Utilities Commission (Commission), with a requested effective date oi
Nov. 1, 2017. This annual filing is separate from the general rate case
request filed in June 2017 regarding base retail rates in ldaho, has no
impact on the company's earnings, and rs not related to the proposed
acquisition of Avista by Hydro One.
The rate request rs the annual Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment (PGA).
The PGA is filed each year to balance the actual cost of wholesale natural
gas purchased by Avista to serve customers with the amount included in
rates. This includes the natural gas commodity cost as well as the cost to
transport natural gas on interstate pipelines to Avista's local distribution
system. lf approved, Avista's request is designed to decrease natural
gas revenues by $1.7 million or 2.7 percent. The primary drivers lor the
requested rate reduction include continued low natural gas commodity
costs due to the continued high production levels of natural gas and a
reduction in the cost to transport natural gas to Avista's
distribution system.
Customer Bills - lf approved, residential natural gas customers in ldaho
using an average of 61 therms per month would see their monthly bills
decrease from $51.10 to $49.87, a decrease ol $t.23 per month, or
approximately 2.4 percent. The proposed natural gas rate change would
be effective Nov. 1, 2017. The requested natural gas rate changes by rate
schedule are:
General Service - Firm - Schedule 101 - Residential & Small
Commercial -2.5%
Large General Service - Firm - Schedules 111 & 112 -
Commercial -3.8%
The Company's application is a proposal, sub,ect to public review and a
Commission decision. Copies of the application are available for public
review at the of{ices of both the Commission and Avista. and on the
Commission's website (www.puc.rdaho.gov). Customers may file with
the Commission written comments related to the Company's filings.
Customers may also subscribe to the Commission's RSS feed (httpr//www.
puc.idaho.gov/rssfeedsirss.htm) to receive periodic updates via e-mail
about the case. Copies o{ rale filings are also available on our website,
www.myavista.com/ratet.
lf you would like to submit comments on the proposed rate change, you
can do so by going to the Commission website or maihng comments to:
ldaho Public Utilities Commission
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, lD 83720-0074
To assist customers in managing their energy use and energy bills, Avista
offers services such as energy efficiency programs and rebates, comfort
level billing, payment arrangements and Customer Assistance Referral and
Evaluation Services (CARES). To learn more, visit www.myavista.com.
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