LEWISTON, ID – Avista has sent a letter to Washington State customers informing them their electric and natural gas rates will increase December 21st of this year and again on December 21st of next year. The company filed general rate requests in January to recover costs for “ongoing investments,” the letter says.
Electricity rates will increase by 5.2% next week while natural gas rates will increase by 0.3%. The following December the rates will increase by 2.5% and 0.8% respectively.
“As your energy provider, we take our responsibility to provide you with energy at an affordable price very seriously. We work hard to manage our costs and make decisions that will help keep these costs low, because we know this matters to you and all of our customers,” Avista says. “While costs for day-to-day expenses have gone up across the board, Avista’s electric prices have remained more than 30% lower than the national average among investor-owned utilities, for several years. We’re committed to affordability. And, we’ve continued to invest in strengthening our infrastructure to keep delivering you with safe, reliable and secure energy when you need it.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, which regulates Avista and sets energy prices, recently made a decision on these rate requests.
“The Commission approved a two-year plan, with rate changes on Dec. 21, 2022 and Dec. 21, 2023. Certain tax credits will be provided to customers over two years and will help keep bills lower. These tax credits won’t be called out separately on the bill, but customers will receive these benefits built into their new rates,” the letter says.
The billed increase percentages customers can expect, based on average residential usage:
Electricity
Billed increase of 5.2% per month – 2022
Billed increase of 2.5% per month – 2023
Natural Gas
Billed increase of 0.3% per month – 2022
Billed increase of 0.8% per month – 2023
