The Oregon Public Utility Commission recently approved an all-party stipulation between PUC staff, consumer groups and Avista agreeing to a general natural gas rate increase at a lower level than originally requested.
The amount general rates will increase on September 1st differs based on customer type and energy usage.
Stipulating parties agreed to an annual revenue increase of $4.2 million or an overall average increase of 3.5% across all customer types combined including residential, commercial and industrial. This is a 46% decrease from Avista's original request to increase annual revenue by $7.8 million.
Residential customers using an average of 48 therms per month will experience a bill increase of around $1.36 or 2% on monthly bills.
Drivers for the increase include capital investments such as expanding natural gas distribution facilities to meet customer needs and ensure reliability of service, replacement of outdated infrastructure, and maintenance of existing infrastructure and technology.
Avista serves more than 106,000 customers in southwest and northeast Oregon.
