 |
Mar 01 , 2010
If you happened to read the Spokesman-Review this morning, you might have seen a great article about Avista’s Sun Car and electric vehicle work along with the smiling mug of my co-worker and occasional blogger Hugh Imhof. You can check out the article here.
I’ve written about the Sun Car a few times, but it was nice to see the broad reach of the S-R to spread the word too. Here’s the deal – the car (actually two cars) are hybrid electric Toyota Priuses that have been modified to plug-in to electricity and hold a charge. The modifications roughly double car’s miles per gallon to around 90 MPG (not too shabby).
Employees of Avista have been driving the cars around our service territory in Idaho and Washington since last summer. As part of the project we installed solar panels on our company headquarters to help power the cars too. You can see a live feed of the power generated by the solar panels here.
On a personal note, I think this technology is pretty cool. Driving around in one of these cars is a different experience – it’s really quiet – but it’s also just the beginning of the electric vehicle revolution. As the price of gasoline goes up, more of us think about cutting back our driving or carpooling more. But what if you could plug in your car every night and get the juice to power your travels right from your utility? It seems like a convenient option.
Yet, from a utility perspective, it’s somewhat of a tricky prospect. These new cars will collectively take a great deal of power. While I don’t think everyone can afford to rush out and buy a brand new plug-in hybrid electric vehicle today, there will come a time when these cars become a viable (and affordable) option. Testing the cars as Avista is today ensures that we will be ready if and when our customers need us to meet their car-charging needs.
Feb 11 , 2010
Avista filed a request to reduce rates back in January. This decrease centers on the removal of a surcharge. The Energy Recovery Mechanism - or ERM - was in place to recover extraordinary changes in certain power supply costs that are above or below the amount included in customer base rates.
So, what does this mean for you if you live in Washington? You will be paying less for your electricity starting Friday.
Point of clarification: This is a decrease, but that doesn’t mean Avista won’t file for other rate changes in the near future. As we noted this morning on the blog, we’re planning to file requests in Washington and Idaho for energy efficiency program tariffs. We’re also going to file general rate cases in Idaho and Washington by the end of the first quarter this year.
We’ll have all the details of these filings here on the blog when they happen.
Feb 05 , 2010
If you read The Spokesman-Review this morning you might have seen that the Spokane County United Way campaign wrapped up to a great success. $4.7 million raised. Employees at Avista have a particular interest in United Way and always have a robust internal campaign, and our CEO Scott Morris has been the overall campaign chairman for the last two years.
The 4 percent increase in giving this year – a remarkable number – is a testament to the community we live in. As a personal contributor to United Way, let me give my small thanks to everyone who donated.
Dec 22 , 2009
We sent out this media release earlier today and I wanted to make sure everyone saw it. We lower the water level at Lake Spokane – I’ve always called it Long Lake – every year, but if you own property out there or know someone who does, you should start getting prepared.
Avista to Begin Lake Spokane Drawdown
-Water level to drop up to a foot per day
Avista Utilities will start to draw down the water level at Lake Spokane (Long Lake Reservoir) the week of December 28, 2009. It is expected that the reservoir will be lowered up to one foot per day for a two- to three-week period, dropping the level of the lake 13 to 14 feet below its maximum summer elevation of 1,536 feet.
Under the right (extreme cold) weather conditions, the drawdown is expected to help with control of Eurasian milfoil, an invasive weed found in many area waterways. The drawdown also allows for repair and construction by property owners along the lake shoreline.
Property owners and lake-users are reminded to make any necessary preparations, including removing boats from the water and securing docks and boathouses for low-water conditions.
Water levels are subject to change due to a variety of factors, such as weather or equipment problems at the Long Lake dam. Lake users should always be alert to signs of such changes and exercise the highest level of personal caution and safety when using the waterways.
Updated reservoir level information is available by calling Avista's recorded Lake Information Line at (509) 495-8043.
Dec 18 , 2009
Throughout 2009 we’ve been talking a lot about natural gas rate reductions in Washington and for good reason; we’ve lowered gas rates in Washington and Idaho three times this year for a total reduction in each state of around 30%.
But any request – up or down – has to be approved by a state commission. It takes up to 11 months for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) to review and reach a decision in a general rate request.
This brings us to next week – Dec. 23 to be exact. Way back on Jan. 23, 2009, we filed an electric and natural gas general rate increase request with the WUTC. If you do the math, 11 months puts a ruling due by Dec. 23. The ruling could come anytime between now and next Wednesday.
Since the ruling hasn’t been issued, we don’t know what the exact numbers will be, but the partial settlement agreement we reached in September was for about a 3% increase in electric prices; that’s down significantly from the amount we originally requested in our January filing. A lot changed in the 11 months since the original filing with the WUTC, especially with steep declines in wholesale natural gas prices. That’s why we reduced the amount in our partial settlement agreement.
One of the most confusing things I’ve encountered working in the utility industry is rate making. It’s a long, rather complicated process that is at times difficult to follow. Sometimes it seems that every mention of a rate case, such as in public hearings, filed testimony before the commissions, mailed brochures and media articles – all sound like separate rate increases. Yet, each event is all a part of the public, transparent rate-making process; one that you’ve been able to participate in all year long.
Utilities like Avista must file rate cases to recover costs, which are explicitly detailed in rates filings. The commission makes the final decisions about what is fair and reasonable for you and for Avista.
Again, we don’t yet know what the rates impact will be on this general rate case, but we do know it will be issued on or before Dec. 23. So please don’t be shocked if you hear about a rate decision – it’s the same rate case we’ve been talking about all year finally coming to a conclusion.
Dec 10 , 2009
There was an interesting article published yesterday in the Shoshone News Press, by reporter Sarah Rose Fredlund called, “Avista pushes for greener energy” that’s worth a look. The article came about after Avista Utilities President Dennis Vermillion made a visit to the Kellogg, Idaho area a week or so ago.
Here’s the opening line of the article to get you interested, “While energy consumption is increasing due to use of advanced technology and appliances, Avista Utilities is developing different projects to explore efficient and renewable energy.”
Nov 17 , 2009
This morning – really early this morning – I was lucky enough to host KHQ’s live chat session during the news station’s morning show. All they had to say was, “visit khq.com and ask this guy from Avista anything you want.” And the questions poured in for two hours.
It was great to have so many conversations with customers over a relatively short period of time. We do the same sort of Q and A conversation through our blog inbox, conversation@avistautilities.com, but this was so different because it was not just two-way, but an entire community of people talking about energy.
It was busy and exciting, and in the end I was pretty pleased with the number of topics we covered. We talked about rates, energy efficiency, natural gas markets, land use, relicensing, regulated and investor-owned utilities, power outages, the Avista blog, Comfort Level Billing, the Online Bill Analyzer, estimated meter reads and a lot of stuff in between.
I’d like to say thanks to KHQ and everyone who chatted with me – I’d love to do it again, but if you have questions in the meantime contact us at conversation@avistautilities.com. Oct 30 , 2009
You might have seen this in the local news over the last few days – good news travels fast – Washington and Idaho regulators have approved sizable decreases in your natural gas rates. This latest decrease will be 25 percent in Washington, 23 percent in Idaho.
Bottom line for Washington, it’s the third such decrease in 2009 alone, totaling about 35 percent. In Idaho, the overall total reduction is 30 percent. We requested these decreases last January, this summer and again this fall and have to wait for each state commission to approve any change.
These new rates were approved this week and will be effective Sunday, Nov. 1, just in time for the winter heating season.
Before you crank up the heat in celebration, remember that to really see the cost benefits of lower rates, you will need to at least maintain your current usage (or use less). You may want to turn up the heat a bit because it’s cheaper to do it, but just remember that your savings could be wiped out if you chose to use more than the previous year. Be comfortable, but knowledgeable about your usage.
If you want to take a closer look at your usage from last year, log on to your My Account and look at the Bill Analyzer, which can compare one month or one year of usage, giving you a breakdown of contributing factors of the changes on your bill. If you don't have a My Account, click here.
One final note – these rate decreases are because of the declining cost of natural gas on the wholesale market. Your total natural gas bill is divided into two costs: natural gas (about two-thirds) and the cost to deliver the gas (about one-third). Wholesale natural gas prices fluctuate based on market conditions. That means prices may increase over the next year. When the cost of gas goes back up, it will be reflected in the rates you pay. We’ll keep you informed of any changes on this blog.
Oct 27 , 2009
This morning, when I got into the office it was still just getting light outside. There was a buzz about the place and I didn’t know why. We’re just like any office, some days are more exciting than others – but today seemed special. A lot of conversations in the halls and happy faces. So, when I opened up my e-mail and found out that Avista had been selected to receive a federal matching grant worth about $20 million for smart grid work, I knew why the tone in the office was so jubilant.
This is very cool news and will give us the opportunity to upgrade a fair amount of our electric line feeder system (improving reliability for your service), lessen the impact on rates (by getting matching funds), create green jobs for our region (could be around 45 jobs), save energy (through efficiency improvements) and serve as an example for other utilities (because we’ve been doing work like this for more than 100 years).
Specifically, the project will include installation of modern equipment and software to enable smart grid capabilities and increase reliability and efficiency.
We originally applied for funds for this project last summer. Read the August 4 blog post, “ Smart grid details: Spokane’s smart circuits.” Given that this is only October, the stimulus funds process is moving at a rapid pace and we expect to start the feeder upgrade work by the end of this year. The whole project is expected to take 36 months to complete. Oct 27 , 2009
Avista has won the 2009 Catalyst Award for Clean/Green Company of the Year. Greater Spokane Incorporated and TechNet announced the award Friday, Oct. 23 during the LaunchPad INW’s Oktoberfest event.
|
|
|
2009 Catalyst Award for Clean/Green Company of
the Year. A single CFL bulb and natural overhead
light was used to light this photo. |
The Catalyst Awards “recognize contributions by individuals, organizations and businesses that demonstrate the utilization of technology and innovation to bring economic development to the region.” This year’s awards also included categories for individuals and businesses using clean or green technologies to make a difference.
Another notable award went to the Institute of Systems Medicine for Organization of the Year, a non-profit organization advancing biomedical infrastructure and research.
Other category winners were:
• Company of the year: Absolute Aviation
• Clean-green organization: City of Spokane
• Mentor of the year: Steve Salvatori, founder of the Spokane Entrepreneurial Center
• Innovators of the year: Dr. Bassem Bejjani and Lisa Shaffer, founders of Signature Genomic Laboratories
Avista strives to be a regional innovator in sustainable energy solutions, leading the way with new ideas and technologies. Renewable energy has been at the core of our operations since we completed our Monroe Street hydroelectric facility on the Spokane River in 1889. As one of the lowest emitters of carbon among the nation’s top energy producers, we remain one of the greenest utilities in the country.
Over time, Avista has taken the lead among energy suppliers in pioneering renewable and sustainable generation and building robust energy efficiency programs to create energy value for our customers. Through the development of companies like Itron (smart meters), ReliOn (fuel cells) and Advantage IQ (bill management for sustainability), we’ve created more than 600 additional “green” jobs benefitting our local economy.
Advantage IQ won a previous Catalyst award in 2006, and Avista won in 1999.
|
|