202304272022 Renewable Natural Gas Report.pdf

Avista Corp.
1411 East Mission P.O. Box 3727
Spokane. Washington 99220-0500
Telephone [phone]
Toll Free 800-727-9170

April 27, 2023

Jan Noriyuki, Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
11331 W. Chinden Blvd. Bldg. 8, Ste. 201-A
Boise, Idaho 83714

RE: Avista Utilities 2022 Annual Report on Optional Renewable Natural Gas

Dear Ms. Noriyuki:

Pursuant to Order No. 35520 in Case No. AVU-G-22-01, enclosed for filing is Avista
Corporation’s dba Avista Utilities’ (Avista or the Company) report on optional renewable natural
gas (RNG) offered as an option to customers in 2022 under tariff Schedule 195 - Optional
Renewable Natural Gas.
Please direct questions on this matter to me at [phone] or Stephanie Myers at
[phone].

Sincerely,

/s/Shawn Bonfield

Sr. Manager of Regulatory Policy & Strategy
Avista Utilities
[e-mail]
RECEIVED
Thursday, April 27, 2023 12:21:56 PM
IDAHO PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION

SCHEDULE 195
RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS
2022 ANNUAL REPORT

AVISTA CORPORATION
April 2023

2 | P a g e

Background

On March 3, 2022, Avista filed its proposed Tariff Schedule 1951 to provide natural gas customers
within Avista’s Idaho natural gas service territory a voluntary opportunity to purchase renewable
natural gas (RNG) as part of their monthly billing. On September 2. 2022 the Idaho Public Utility
Commission (Commission) issued Final Order 35520, approving Avista’s voluntary RNG
program. The Program offers residential and commercial natural gas customers in Idaho with the
option to purchase blocks of RNG which includes the environmental equivalent attributes
associated with 1.5 therms of RNG. Each block is priced at $5.00 per block, per month. Customers
subscribe on a monthly basis and can cancel and re-subscribe at any time through multiple channels
including Avista’s website, bill inserts, and contacting Avista’s contact center. Avista purchases
and retires Renewable Thermal Credits (RTCs) on behalf of its customers to supply the
program. The Company markets the program through billing inserts, earned media, local public
radio, selected fairs, and printed media.

Renewable Natural Gas 2022 Annual Reporting

Table 1 below represents the number of active participants each month.
Table 1 – 2022 Monthly Renewable Natural Gas Participation
2022 ID – Total
Participants
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep 1
Oct 84
Nov 88
Dec 88

1 Advice No. AVU-G-22-01

3 | P a g e

Table 2 below provides the Idaho RTC purchase details.
Table 2 –2022 RTC Purchase Details
Generator Plant-
Unit Name
Location Qty RTC
Vintage
Total Price
H.W. Hill Renewable
Gas Facility WA 51.6 2022 $1,238

Tables 3 and 4 below provide a detailed break-down of administrative and marketing costs. These
expenses correlate to the overall project expenses and program budget as provided in reporting
requirement No. 5.
Table 3 – 2022 Labor Expenses
Oct Nov Grand Total
340 Regular Payroll - NU 5.16 10.77 15.93
509 Pay Ben Inj & Dam 0.07 0.14 0.21
510 Payroll Benefits loading 2.25 4.60 6.85
511 Non-Service Loading -0.32 -0.67 -1.00
512 Incentive Loading-NU 0.21 0.43 0.64
515 Payroll Tax loading 0.42 0.81 1.23
516 Inctv Pyrll Tax 0.01 0.03 0.04
520 Payroll Time Off loading 1.19 2.15 3.34
Grand Total 8.99 18.26 27.25

Table 4 below outlines the non-labor expenses. These are primarily due to the software required
to retire RTCs on behalf of all customers. While Avista did not start offering a voluntary RNG
program to its Idaho customers until September 2022, the Company started using M-RETS to track
and retire RTCs in January 2022 for its RNG purchases/retirements for each jurisdiction it serves.
The Idaho expenses are prorated for 4 months of the year (not by program participation in Idaho).
The RNG purchased is prorated by the number of Idaho participants.

4 | P a g e

Table 4 – 2022 Non-Labor Expenses
Accounting
Period
Expenditure
Type
Vendor Name Transaction
Description
Transaction
Amount
February
2022
820 Computer
Equip Software
Midwest Renewable
Energy Tracking
System
MRETS Software
Subscription 733.33
February
2022
820 Computer
Equip Software
Midwest Renewable
Energy Tracking
System
MRETS Software
Subscription 60.55
October
2022
885
Miscellaneous
Puget Sound Energy RNG Purchase –
Sept2022 1,238.00
Grand Total 2,031.88

Program Promotion and Education
Table 5 below provides a list of the promotional communication pertaining to the voluntary RNG
program to Idaho customers throughout 2022.
Table 5 – Summary of communication activities in 2022:
April Message on the bill for residential customers in ID, OR, and WA
May Email to OR customers, eConnections article for all customers
June Print and electronic Connections newsletter to all customers
September Email to ID customers
October Email to ID customers

Table 6 below provides the provides the break-down of program expenses. These costs and
balances correlate to the detailed break-down of itemized expenses provide in Table 3 above.

5 | P a g e

Table 6 – 2022 Program Expenses
2022
Sch 195 Revenue
Gross
Revenue Conversion
Factor Net Revenue
ID 1,815 0.949622 1,724

Project Costs:
340 Regular Payroll - NU 15.93
509 Pay Ben Inj & Dam 0.21
510 Payroll Benefits loading 6.85
511 Non-Service Loading -1
512 Incentive Loading-NU 0.64
515 Payroll Tax loading 1.23
516 Inctv Pyrll Tax 0.04
520 Payroll Time Off loading 3.34
820 Computer Equip Software 793.88

RTCs purchased 1,238

Revenue offset 1,724

Net (Benefit)/Costs (335)