Avista rates are going up in Idaho

Starting Monday, Avista’s Idaho customers will pay about $4 extra on their combined monthly gas and electric bills.

An average residential customer will pay about $2.53 more per month for natural gas. An average electric customer will pay about $1.42 more per month.

Neither of the adjustments will increase Avista’s net earnings, according to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. The higher prices paid by customers stem from fluctuations in wholesale prices for natural gas and a reduced federal electric credit.

Customers received a large credit last year when wholesale costs for natural gas dropped. That credit will be smaller this year.

In addition, the Bonneville Power Administration has reduced the size of a federal electric credit for Avista customers. The credit was created to ensure that all Northwest residents receive a financial benefit from federal hydroelectric generation on the Columbia and Snake rivers.

In 2007, a federal court determined that customers of investor-owned utilities, such as Avista, had been overpaid through the credit. The downward adjustment reflects a recent settlement between Avista and BPA.