SPOKANE, Wash., Aug. 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avista (NYSE:AVA) – Avista’s Washington natural gas customers would see lower monthly bills this winter under annual rate adjustment requests the company filed today with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC). These filings seek to true-up the level of costs in customer rates with the actual level incurred by the Company.

If approved, the requests would decrease natural gas rates by approximately 11.5%, while electric rates would remain nearly unchanged. The largest natural gas adjustment is related to Washington’s Climate Commitment Act and would reduce rates by approximately 11%. Additionally, the filing includes a reduction related to the cost of supply and transportation of natural gas. The electric adjustments are small and largely offset one another. Together, they would reduce electric rates by approximately 0.01%, resulting in little to no noticeable change in customer bills.

"We know many families and businesses are paying close attention to every expense right now," said Heather Rosentrater, president and CEO of Avista. "These annual adjustments are separate from our pending general rate case and reflect specific costs that are reviewed every year in Washington. For natural gas customers, this year’s filing would result in lower bills heading into the winter heating season."

Effect on customer bills

Natural gas customers—If approved by the WUTC, most residential natural gas customers in Washington using an average of 61 therms per month would see their monthly bills decrease by approximately $7.38, from $96.18 to $88.80 - a decrease of approximately 7.7%.

Customer type and rate schedule	Proposed change
General service (Schedule 101)	Decrease of 5.7%
Large general service (Schedules 111 & 112)	Decrease of 24.4%
Interruptible sales service (Schedules 131 & 132)	Decrease of 22.9%
Transportation service (Schedule 146)	Decrease of 35.7%
Overall	Decrease of 11.5%

The large decreases for non-Schedule 101 customers is due to differing impacts of the Purchase Gas Adjustment (PGA) on the various rate schedules, especially for transportation service schedule 146 customers who procure their own wholesale natural gas and interstate transportation service and are not subject to the PGA. In addition, because the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) charges make up a smaller portion of a residential customers bills, the decrease from the CCA results in a larger impact for non-residential customers.

Electric customers—If approved by the WUTC, residential electric customers in Washington using an average of 925 kilowatt-hours per month would see their monthly bills decrease by approximately $0.05, from $125.69 to $125.64 - a decrease of approximately 0.04%.

Customer type and rate schedule	Proposed change
Residential service (Schedules 1, 7 & 8)	Decrease of 0.03%
General service (Schedules 11, 12, 13, 17 & 18)	Increase of 0.01%
Large general service (Schedules 21, 22 & 23)	Increase of 0.04%
Extra large general service (Schedules 25 & 25I)	Increase of 0.03%
Pumping service (Schedules 31 & 32)	Decrease of 0.01%
Street and area lighting (Schedules 42-48)	Increase of 0.01%
Overall	Decrease of 0.01%

Actual bill impacts vary based on rate schedule and energy usage.

Additional filing information

For customers, businesses and others interested in additional detail, the following tables summarize the proposed adjustments included in the filings.

Natural gas adjustments

Adjustment	Proposed change
Climate Commitment Act (CCA)	Decrease of $32.8 million (11.0%)
Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment (PGA)	Decrease of $1.3 million (0.5%)
Insurance Expense Balancing	Decrease of $0.1 million (0.05%)
Overall natural gas adjustment	Decrease of $34.3 million (11.5%)

Climate Commitment Act – Applicable to Washington Natural Gas

The CCA adjustment is filed annually to true-up actual CCA compliance costs with the amounts currently included in rates. The adjustment also updates the CCA Benefits returned to customers from the consignment of no-cost allowances allocated by the Washington Department of Ecology and sold at auction. State law requires that these revenues, at a minimum, eliminate any CCA cost burden for low-income customers. Importantly, premises connected to the natural gas system after July 25, 2021 are not eligible to receive CCA benefits.
Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment - Applicable to Washington Natural Gas

The PGA is filed annually to true-up the actual cost of natural gas purchased to serve customers with the amount currently included in rates. The PGA includes both the cost of the natural gas commodity and the cost of transporting that gas on interstate pipelines to Avista's distribution system. This year's rate adjustment is driven primarily by lower wholesale natural gas prices during the past winter, which fell below the level previously approved by the Commission and included in customer rates.
Insurance Expense Balancing Account – Applicable to Washington Electric & Natural Gas

Avista’s Insurance Expense Balancing Account tracks the difference between actual insurance expenses incurred by Avista and the base level of insurance expense approved by the Commission in a prior general rate case. Depending on the difference, the amount is either credited to or collected through customer rates. This year’s proposed decrease reflects lower insurance costs incurred by the company.

Electric adjustments

Adjustment	Proposed change
Residential Exchange Program	Decrease of $0.1 million (0.01%)
Insurance Expense Balancing	Decrease of $0.4 million (0.05%)
Clean Energy Implementation Plan (CEIP)	Increase of $0.5 million (0.06%)
Overall electric adjustment	Decrease of approximately $20,000 (0.01%)

Residential Exchange Program – Applicable to Washington Electric

The Residential Exchange Program shares benefits from the federal Columbia River power system with residential and small farm customers of investor-owned utilities, like Avista, throughout the Pacific Northwest. The benefit amount can change from year to year. Due to fluctuations in customer energy usage, Avista received slightly more from BPA than it returned to customers. If approved, this adjustment would allow Avista to return the remaining balance and slightly increase the benefits shared with qualifying customers.
Clean Energy Implementation Plan (CEIP) - Applicable to Washington Electric

This adjustment recovers costs associated with implementing Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) requirements, including investments that support vulnerable populations and highly impacted communities. These costs include funding for the Named Communities Investment Fund (NCIF), a targeted initiative that supports the equitable distribution of energy and non-energy benefits and the reduction of burdens experienced by Vulnerable Populations and Highly Impacted Communities (Named Communities). The rate adjustment also recovers the costs of additional resources necessary to carry out the CEIP and associated implementation requirements.

Customer assistance and energy-saving resources

Avista recognizes that many households and businesses continue to face financial pressures.

Customers may qualify for assistance through the company’s My Energy Discount program, payment arrangements, preferred due dates and other bill-management options. Avista also partners with local community action agencies to help eligible customers access emergency energy assistance, home weatherization services and heating system improvements.

Customers interested in available programs and assistance options can learn more at myavista.com/assistance.

About Avista Corp.

Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating division that provides electric service to 429,000 customers and natural gas to 386,000 customers. Our service territory covers 34,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.5 million. AERC is an Avista subsidiary that, through its subsidiary AEL&P, provides retail electric service to 18,000 customers in the city and borough of Juneau, Alaska. Our stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA". For more information about Avista, please visit www.avistacorp.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company’s current expectations. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than historical facts. Such statements speak only as of the date of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, in addition to those discussed herein, all of the factors discussed in the company’s and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Jun. 30, 2026, and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025.

Avista Corp. and the Avista Corp. logo are trademarks of Avista Corporation.

SOURCE: Avista Corporation

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