PUC won’t take up Avista request again

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission said Wednesday it won’t reconsider Avista Utilities’ request to charge some expenses to ratepayers.

In early October, the commission said it wouldn’t allow Avista to charge Idaho customers for $14.7 million worth of expenses, including cost overruns in the construction of a Spokane Valley power plant and some gas contracts the commission called “highly irregular” and “speculative.”

Later that month, Avista requested that Idaho regulators reconsider their decision and allow it to charge ratepayers for $7.4 million worth of those expenses.

The company said yesterday it’s disappointed that the commission refused to do so. “In Avista’s judgment, those natural gas and generation-construction costs were prudently incurred,” the company said in a statement.

The commission said in its ruling yesterday that it will allow “some computational corrections sought by Avista that will not have an immediate impact on rates.” Avista said those costs total $163,000.

Initially, Avista had requested that its electric rates be increased by 21 percent. The commission approved an increase of 16.9 percent, but coupled with a decrease in an existing surcharge, rates will only rise by an average of 1.9 percent.

Also, Avista had requested that natural gas rates be increased by 7.8 percent and the commission approved a 6.4 percent increase. However, combined with Avista’s direct pass-through of higher wholesale prices for the commodity, rates will rise by almost 21 percent.

Avista serves 110,000 electric customers and 62,000 natural gas customers in Idaho.