ava-10k_20201231.htm
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-K
(Mark One)
FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED December 31, 2020 OR
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO
Commission file number 001-03701
AVISTA CORPORATION
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
1411 East Mission Avenue, Spokane, WA99202-2600
(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 509-489-0500
Web site: http://www.avistacorp.com
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class Trading Symbol(s) Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common Stock AVA NYSE
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
Title of Class
Preferred Stock, Cumulative, Without Par Value
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐No☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days: Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large Accelerated Filer ☒ Accelerated Filer ☐
Non-accelerated Filer ☐ Smaller reporting company ☐
Emerging growth company ☐
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act): Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s outstanding Common Stock, no par value (the only class of voting stock), held by non-affiliates is $2,471,363,713 based on the last reported sale price thereof on the consolidated tape on June 30, 2020.
As of January 31, 2021, 69,263,835 shares of Registrant’s Common Stock, no par value (the only class of common stock), were outstanding.
Documents Incorporated By Reference
Document Part of Form 10-K into Which Document is Incorporated
AVISTA CORPORATION
INDEX
Item No. Page No.
Acronyms and Terms iv
Forward-Looking Statements 1
Available Information 4
Part I
1 Business 5
Company Overview 5
Avista Utilities 7
General 7
Electric Operations 7
Electric Requirements 7
Electric Resources 8
Hydroelectric Licenses 11
Future Resource Needs 11
Natural Gas Operations 14
Utility Regulation 16
Federal Laws Related to Wholesale Competition 17
Regional Transmission Planning 17
Regional Energy Markets 17
Reliability Standards 18
Vulnerability to Cyberattack 18
Avista Utilities Operating Statistics 19
Alaska Electric Light and Power Company 21
Alaska Electric Light and Power Company Operating Statistics 23
Other Businesses 24
1A. Risk Factors 25
1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 33
Avista Utilities 34
Alaska Electric Light and Power Company 35
3 Legal Proceedings 36
4 Mine Safety Disclosures 36
Part II
6 Removed and Reserved 37
Business Segments 38
Executive Level Summary 38
Regulatory Matters 40
Results of Operations - Overall 45
Non-GAAP Financial Measures 47
Results of Operations - Avista Utilities 48
Results of Operations - Alaska Electric Light and Power Company 54
Results of Operations - Other Businesses 54
Accounting Standards to Be Adopted in 2021 54
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates 54
Liquidity and Capital Resources 57
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Overall Liquidity 57
Review of Consolidated Cash Flow Statement 58
Capital Resources 59
Utility Capital Expenditures 61
Non-Regulated Investments and Capital Expenditures 61
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements 62
Pension Plan 62
Credit Ratings 62
Dividends 63
Contractual Obligations 63
Competition 64
Economic Conditions and Utility Load Growth 65
Environmental Issues and Other Contingencies 66
Colstrip 72
Enterprise Risk Management 73
7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk 80
8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 80
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 81
Financial Statements 83
Consolidated Statements of Income 83
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income 84
Consolidated Balance Sheets 85
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 86
Consolidated Statements of Equity 88
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 89
Note 1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies 89
Note 2. New Accounting Standards 96
Note 3. Balance Sheet Components 97
Note 4. Revenue 98
Note 6. Variable Interest Entities 105
Note 7. Derivatives and Risk Management 106
Note 8. Jointly Owned Electric Facilities 110
Note 9. Property, Plant and Equipment 110
Note 10. Asset Retirement Obligations 111
Note 11. Pension Plans and Other Postretirement Benefit Plans 112
Note 12. Accounting for Income Taxes 117
Note 13. Energy Purchase Contracts 119
Note 14. Committed Lines of Credit 120
Note 15. Credit Agreement 121
Note 16. Long-Term Debt 121
Note 17. Long-Term Debt to Affiliated Trusts 122
Note 20. Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss 127
Note 22. Commitments and Contingencies 128
Note 23. Regulatory Matters 131
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Note 24. Information by Business Segments 134
Note 25. Termination of Proposed Acquisition by Hydro One 136
Note 26. Sale of METALfx 136
9A. Controls and Procedures 137
9B. Other Information 139
Part III
10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 140
11. Executive Compensation 141
14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 142
Part IV
15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 143
Exhibit Index 144
* = not an applicable item in the 2020 calendar year for Avista Corp.
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ACRONYMS AND TERMS
(The following acronyms and terms are found in multiple locations within the document)
Acronym/Term Meaning
AM&D - Advanced Manufacturing and Development, doing business as METALfx
ARAM - Average Rate Assumption Method
ASC - Accounting Standards Codification
ASU - Accounting Standards Update
Avista Corp. - Avista Corporation, the Company
BPA - Bonneville Power Administration
CETA - Clean Energy Transformation Act
Colstrip - The coal-fired Colstrip Generating Plant in southeastern Montana
CT - Combustion turbine
Ecology - The State of Washington’s Department of Ecology
EIM - Energy Imbalance Market
EPA - Environmental Protection Agency
FASB - Financial Accounting Standards Board
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FERC - Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
GAAP - Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
GHG - Greenhouse gas
GS - Generating station
Hydro One - Hydro One Limited, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
IPUC - Idaho Public Utilities Commission
IRP - Integrated Resource Plan
Juneau - The City and Borough of Juneau, Alaska
kV - Kilovolt (1000 volts): a measure of capacity on transmission lines
LNG - Liquefied Natural Gas
MPSC - Public Service Commission of the State of Montana
MW, MWh - Megawatt: 1000 KW. Megawatt-hour: 1000 KWh
NERC - North American Electricity Reliability Corporation
OPUC - The Public Utility Commission of Oregon
PGA - Purchased Gas Adjustment
PPA - Power Purchase Agreement
PSE - Puget Sound Energy
PUD - Public Utility District
RCA - The Regulatory Commission of Alaska
REC - Renewable energy credit
ROE - Return on equity
ROR - Rate of return on rate base
ROU - Right-of-use lease asset
SEC - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
TCJA - The "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," signed into law in December 2017
WUTC - Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
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Forward-Looking Statements
From time to time, we make forward-looking statements such as statements regarding projected or future:
• financial performance;
• cash flows;
• capital expenditures;
• dividends;
• capital structure;
• other financial items;
• strategic goals and objectives;
• business environment; and
• plans for operations.
These statements are based upon underlying assumptions (many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions). Such statements are made both in our reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (including this Annual Report on Form 10-K), and elsewhere. Forward-looking statements are all statements except those of historical fact including, without limitation, those that are identified by the use of words that include “will,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “intends,” “plans,” “seeks,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “projects,” “predicts,” and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements (including those made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K) are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Most of these factors are beyond our control and may have a significant effect on our operations, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others:
Utility Regulatory Risk
Operational Risk
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Cyber and Technology Risk
Strategic Risk
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• the risk of municipalization or other forms of service territory reduction;
External Mandates Risk
Financial Risk
• the outcome of legal proceedings and other contingencies;
• deterioration in the creditworthiness of our customers;
Energy Commodity Risk
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Compliance Risk
Our expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith. We believe they are reasonable based on, without limitation, an examination of historical operating trends, our records and other information available from third parties. There can be no assurance that our expectations, beliefs or projections will be achieved or accomplished. Furthermore, any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New risks, uncertainties and other factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such factors, nor can we assess the effect of each such factor on our business or the extent that any such factor or combination of factors may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.
Available Information
We file annual, quarterly and current reports and proxy statements with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains these documents at www.sec.gov. We make annual, quarterly and current reports and proxy statements available on our website, www.avistacorp.com, as soon as practicable after electronically filing these documents with the SEC. Except for SEC filings or portions thereof that are specifically referred to in this report, the information contained on these websites is not part of this report.
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
COMPANY OVERVIEW
Avista Corp., incorporated in the territory of Washington in 1889, is primarily an electric and natural gas utility with certain other business ventures. Our mission is to improve our customers’ lives through innovative energy solutions, safely, responsibly and affordably. Our corporate headquarters is in Spokane, Washington, the second-largest city in Washington. Spokane serves as the business, transportation, medical, industrial and cultural hub of the Inland Northwest region (eastern Washington and northern Idaho). Regional services include government and higher education, medical services, retail trade and finance. Through our subsidiary AEL&P, we also provide electric utility services in Juneau, Alaska.
As of December 31, 2020, we have two reportable business segments as follows:
We have other businesses, including venture fund investments, real estate investments, as well as certain other investments made by Avista Capital, which is a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Avista Corp. These activities do not represent a reportable business segment and are conducted by various direct and indirect subsidiaries of Avista Corp.
Total Avista Corp. shareholders’ equity was $2.0 billion as of December 31, 2020, which includes a $100.8 million investment in Avista Capital and a $106.6 million investment in AERC.
See “Note 24 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” for information with respect to the operating performance of each business segment (and other subsidiaries).
Human Capital
Our approach to people is a critical strategy and the priorities for this strategy include, among other things:
• developing, retaining and attracting a diverse and skilled workforce;
• supporting and rewarding our employees through competitive pay and benefits;
• encouraging and supporting a community-minded Company culture;
The following is an overview of some of our key human capital initiatives intended to ensure the overall well-being of our employees and other stakeholders.
People Development, Retention and Attraction
We strive to hire and retain talented people who are innovative and skilled so that we can continue to provide safe, reliable and affordable service to our customers and advance our Company at the same time. We have continuous learning programs and development opportunities, including periodic job rotations, that are designed to prepare our employees for critical roles and leadership positions for the future. These programs encompass such topics as leadership development, diversity, equity and
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inclusion, communication skills, cross-functional learning and local community involvement. We also offer tuition assistance programs for continuing education.
Critical to retaining our people and being attractive to new employees is the employee experience, and we regularly conduct employee engagement surveys to gauge employee satisfaction and to understand the effectiveness of our systems and culture. We use the information from the surveys to improve our ability to develop, retain and attract talented employees. We reward our employees by providing market competitive compensation and benefits, including health benefits, incentives and recognition plans that extend to all levels in our organization.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We strive to create a workplace culture that values trust and respect and helps guide our overall commitment to doing what is right. With a strong workplace culture as a foundation, we actively engage and listen to our employees, customers and communities in order to help measure and inform our diversity, equity and inclusion and racial and social justice practices. Our diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are focused on employee recruitment, employee training and development, and employee engagement, including participation in employee resource groups. Employee resource groups are voluntary, employee led groups that foster a diverse and inclusive workplace aligned with our organizational mission, values and goals and business practices.
Avista Utilities employee profile as of December 31, 2020:
Women Under Represented Groups (a)
Bargaining Unit 3% 5%
Non-bargaining Unit 45% 9%
Executives (b) 16% 8%
(b) Executive is defined as vice president or higher.
Bargaining Unit employees comprise 37 percent of Avista Utilities’ employees.
Workplace Safety
Safety is an essential part of our mission. We have a variety of programs and initiatives in place that are intended to help employees complete their work with minimal accidents, injuries or incidents through heightened vigilance, hazard recognition, defensive strategies, continuous learning, human process improvement, lessons learned, and other tools intended to ensure resilience in varying and unpredictable conditions. We work with our employees to build personal responsibility regarding safety and health, and to implement measures to create and maintain a safe work environment.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has focused, and continues to focus, on the well-being and safety of its employees, customers and communities. Among other things, the Company developed a pandemic response plan, through which it facilitated more than 1,200 of its employees to work remotely in order to protect employees and limit the spread of the virus, while still delivering electric and natural gas service to customers. Essential employees, necessary to work on site maintaining electricity and natural gas for our customers, are continuing to work under guidelines for social distancing, face-coverings and staggered shifts. The Company also created contact-tracing, testing and vaccination efforts, giving employees quick access to necessary resources and information as soon as they are available in order to stay safe.
Additional Information
Additional information highlighting Avista’s commitments to corporate responsibility and ethical governance is available on the Company’s website at www.avistacorp.com. Material on the Company’s website is not part of this report.
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AVISTA UTILITIES
General
At the end of 2020, Avista Utilities supplied retail electric service to approximately 400,000 customers and retail natural gas service to approximately 367,000 customers across its service territory. Avista Utilities' service territory covers 30,000 square miles with a population of 1.7 million. See “Item 2. Properties” for further information on our utility assets. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Economic Conditions and Utility Load Growth” for information on economic conditions in our service territory.
Electric Operations
General Avista Utilities generates, transmits and distributes electricity, serving electric customers in eastern Washington and northern Idaho and a small number of customers in Montana, most of whom are employees who operate Avista Utilities' Noxon Rapids generating facility.
Avista Utilities generates electricity from facilities that we own and purchases capacity, energy and fuel for generation under long-term and short-term contracts to meet customer load obligations. We also sell electric capacity and energy, as well as surplus fuel in the wholesale market in connection with our resource optimization activities as described below.
As part of Avista Utilities' resource procurement and management operations in the electric business, we engage in an ongoing process of resource optimization, which involves the selection from available energy resources to serve our load obligations and the use of these resources to capture economic value through wholesale market transactions. These include sales and purchases of electric capacity and energy, fuel for electric generation, and derivative contracts related to capacity, energy, fuel and fuel transportation. Such transactions are part of the process of matching available resources with load obligations and hedging a portion of the related financial risks. In order to implement this process, we make continuing projections of:
On the basis of these projections, we make purchases and sales of electric capacity and energy, fuel for electric generation, and related derivative contracts to match expected resources to expected electric load requirements and reduce our exposure to electricity (or fuel) market price changes. The process of resource optimization involves scheduling and dispatching available resources as well as the following:
• purchasing fuel for generation,
This optimization process includes entering into hedging transactions to manage risks. Transactions include both physical energy contracts and related derivative instruments, and the terms range from intra-hour up to multiple years.
Avista Utilities' generation assets are interconnected through the regional transmission system and are operated on a coordinated basis to enhance load-serving capability and reliability. We acquire both long-term and short-term transmission capacity to facilitate all of our energy and capacity transactions. We provide transmission and ancillary services in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana.
Electric Requirements
Avista Utilities' peak electric native load requirement for 2020 was 1,721 MW, which occurred on August 17, 2020. In 2019, our peak electric native load was 1,656 MW, which occurred during the summer, and in 2018, it was 1,716 MW, which occurred during the summer.
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Electric Resources
Avista Utilities has a diverse electric resource mix of Company-owned and contracted hydroelectric, thermal and wind generation facilities, and other contracts for power purchases and exchanges. As of December 31, 2020, Avista Utilities' electric generation resource mix (including contracts for power purchases) was approximately 49 percent hydroelectric, 42 percent thermal and 9 percent other renewables. See “Item 2. Properties” for detailed information on Company-owned generating facilities.
Hydroelectric Resources Avista Utilities owns and operates Noxon Rapids and Cabinet Gorge on the Clark Fork River and six smaller hydroelectric projects on the Spokane River. Hydroelectric generation is typically our lowest cost source per MWh of electric energy and the availability of hydroelectric generation has a significant effect on total power supply costs. Under normal streamflow and operating conditions, we estimate that we would be able to meet approximately one-half of our total average electric requirements (both retail and long-term wholesale) with the combination of our hydroelectric generation and long-term hydroelectric purchase contracts with certain PUDs in the state of Washington. Our estimate of normal annual hydroelectric generation for 2021 (including resources purchased under long-term hydroelectric contracts with certain PUDs) is 586 aMW (or 5.2 million MWhs).
The following graph shows Avista Utilities' hydroelectric generation (in thousands of MWhs) during the year ended December 31:
Thermal Resources Avista Utilities owns the following thermal generating resources:
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Coyote Springs 2, which is operated by Portland General Electric Company, is supplied with natural gas under a combination of term contracts and spot market purchases, including transportation agreements with bilateral renewal rights.
Colstrip, which is operated by Talen Montana, is supplied with fuel from adjacent coal reserves under coal supply and transportation agreements. Several of the co-owners of Colstrip, including us, have negotiated an extension to the coal contract that runs through December 31, 2025. See “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis – Colstrip " for discussion regarding environmental and other issues surrounding Colstrip.
The primary fuel for the Kettle Falls GS is wood waste generated as a by-product and delivered by trucks from forest industry operations within 100 miles of the plant. A combination of long-term contracts and spot purchases has provided, and is expected to meet, fuel requirements for the Kettle Falls GS.
The Northeast CT, Rathdrum CT, Boulder Park GS and Kettle Falls CT generating units are primarily used to meet peaking electric requirements. We also operate these facilities when marginal costs are below prevailing wholesale electric prices. These generating facilities have access to natural gas supplies that are adequate to meet their respective operating needs.
See "Item 2. Properties - Avista Utilities - Generation Properties" for the nameplate rating and present generating capabilities of the above thermal resources.
We have the exclusive rights to all the capacity of the Lancaster Plant, a 270 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle combustion turbine plant located in northern Idaho, owned by an unrelated third-party. All of the output from the Lancaster Plant is contracted to us through 2026 under a PPA. Under the terms of the PPA, we make the dispatch decisions, provide all natural gas fuel and receive all of the electric energy output from the Lancaster Plant; therefore, we consider this plant in our baseload resources. See "Note 6 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" for further discussion of this PPA.
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The following graph shows Avista Utilities' thermal generation (in thousands of MWhs) during the year ended December 31:
Wind Resources We have exclusive rights to all the capacity of Palouse Wind, a wind generation project developed, owned and managed by an unrelated third-party and located in Whitman County, Washington. The PPA expires in 2042 and requires us to acquire all of the power and renewable attributes produced by the project at a fixed price per MWh with a fixed escalation of the price over the term of the agreement. The project has a nameplate capacity of 105 MW. Generation from Palouse Wind was 370,142 MWhs in 2020, 302,136 MWhs in 2019 and 327,172 MWhs in 2018. We have an annual option to purchase the wind project beginning in December 2022. The purchase price is a fixed price per KW of in-service capacity with a fixed decline in the price per KW over the remaining 20-year term of the PPA. Under the terms of the PPA, we do not have any input into the day-to-day operation of the project, including maintenance decisions. All such rights are held by the owner.
We have exclusive rights to all of the capacity of Rattlesnake Flat Wind project developed, owned and managed by an unrelated third party and located in Adams County, Washington. The facility has a nameplate capacity of 144 MW and is expected to generate approximately 50 aMW annually. The PPA is a 20-year agreement that began in December 2020 and requires us to acquire all of the power and renewable attributes produced by the project at a fixed price per MWh with a fixed escalation of the price over the term of the agreement. Under the terms of the PPA, we do not have any input into the day-to-day operation of the project, including maintenance decisions. All such rights are held by the owner.
Solar ResourcesWe have exclusive rights to all the capacity of the Lind Solar Farm, a solar generation project developed, owned and managed by an unrelated third-party and located in Lind, Washington. The PPA expires in 2038 and requires us to acquire all the power and renewable attributes produced by the project at a fixed price per MWh. The project has a nameplate capacity of 28 MW. The facility generated 45,281 MWhs in 2020, 42,346 MWhs in 2019, and 584 MWhs in 2018. Under the terms of the PPA, we do not have any input into the day-to-day operation of the project, including maintenance decisions. All such rights are held by the owner. In addition to the Lind Solar Farm, we also own a community solar project located in Spokane Valley, Washington with a nameplate capacity of 0.4 MW. The community solar project generated 534 MWhs in 2020, 561 MWhs in 2019, and 538 MWhs in 2018.
Other Purchases, Exchanges and Sales In addition to the resources described above, we purchase and sell power under various long-term contracts, and we also enter into short-term purchases and sales. Further, pursuant to The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, as amended, we are required to purchase generation from qualifying facilities. This includes,
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among other resources, hydroelectric projects, cogeneration projects and wind generation projects at rates approved by the WUTC and the IPUC.
See “Avista Utilities Electric Operating Statistics – Electric Operations” below for annual quantities of purchased power, wholesale power sales and power from exchanges in 2020, 2019 and 2018. See “Electric Operations” above for additional information with respect to the use of wholesale purchases and sales as part of our resource optimization process and also see "Future Resource Needs" below for the magnitude of these power purchase and sales contracts in future periods.
Avista Corp. understands that there are many coal-fired electric generating stations throughout the western United States that are scheduled for retirement in the next several years. Depending upon a variety of factors, these retirements could have an impact upon the availability and price of purchased power in, and the dynamics of, the market in which we conduct our wholesale purchases and sales. At the same time, the retirement of Colstrip Units 3 & 4, if it were effected, could increase the volume of energy that we are required to purchase in this marketplace. However, after December 31, 2025, we will be effectively prohibited by Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) from using energy produced by coal-fired plants to serve our retail customers in Washington, and, to the extent necessary for that purpose, we will have to obtain energy produced by other resources. See “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis – Environmental Matters and Contingencies – Climate Change – Washington Legislation and Regulatory Actions – Clean Energy Transformation Act” and “Colstrip."
Hydroelectric Licenses
Avista Corp. is a licensee under the Federal Power Act (FPA) as administered by the FERC, which includes regulation of hydroelectric generation resources. Excluding the Little Falls Hydroelectric Generating Project (Little Falls), our other seven hydroelectric plants are regulated by the FERC through two project licenses. The licensed projects are subject to the provisions of Part I of the FPA. These provisions include payment for headwater benefits, condemnation of licensed projects upon payment of just compensation, and take-over by the federal government of such projects after the expiration of the license upon payment of the lesser of “net investment” or “fair value” of the project, in either case, plus severance damages. In the unlikely event that a take-over occurs, it could lead to either the decommissioning of the hydroelectric project or offering the project to another party (likely through sale and transfer of the license).
Cabinet Gorge and Noxon Rapids are under one 45-year FERC license issued in 2001. See “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis – Environmental Issues and Contingencies" for discussion of dissolved atmospheric gas levels that exceed the state of Idaho and federal numeric water quality standards downstream of Cabinet Gorge during periods when we must divert excess river flows over the spillway, as well as our mitigation plans and efforts.
Five of our six hydroelectric projects on the Spokane River (Long Lake, Nine Mile, Upper Falls, Monroe Street and Post Falls) are under one 50-year FERC license issued in 2009 and are referred to collectively as the Spokane River Project. The sixth, Little Falls, is operated under separate Congressional authority and is not licensed by the FERC.
Future Resource Needs
Avista Utilities has operational strategies to provide sufficient resources to meet our energy requirements under a range of operating conditions. These operational strategies consider the amount of energy needed, which varies widely because of the factors that influence demand over intra-hour, hourly, daily, monthly and annual durations. Our average hourly load was 1,064 aMW in 2020, 1,081 aMW in 2019 and 1,034 aMW in 2018.
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The following graph shows our forecast of our average annual energy requirements and our available resources for 2021 through 2024:
(4) The forecast assumes near normal hydroelectric generation.
We are required to file an IRP with the WUTC and IPUC every two years. The WUTC and IPUC review the IRP and give the public the opportunity to comment. The WUTC and IPUC do not approve or disapprove of the content in the IRP; rather, they acknowledge that the IRP was prepared in accordance with applicable standards if that is the case. The IRP details projected growth in demand for energy and the new resources needed to serve customers over the next 20 years. We regard the IRP as a tool for resource evaluation, rather than an acquisition plan for a particular project.
We filed petitions with the WUTC and IPUC in January 2019 to extend the current electric IRP from August 31, 2019 to February 28, 2020 because of the uncertainty created by new clean energy laws in Washington. The WUTC and IPUC approved our petitions. Subsequent to these approvals, the WUTC issued an order extending the deadline to file the IRP until April 2021. We filed an IRP in Idaho in February 2020. Our resource strategy includes additional clean energy resources and potential for existing resource retirements. This plan, embodied in the 2020 IRP, is subject to change in the 2021 IRP to be filed in Washington due to rulemaking in Washington State to implement the CETA.
Highlights of the 2020 IRP filed in Idaho include the following expectations and/or assumptions:
• Models the clean energy requirements of CETA in Washington State.
• Optimizes a resource portfolio for 25 years instead of 20 years.
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• Assumes Colstrip no longer included in the portfolio in 2025.
We are subject to the Washington State Energy Independence Act, which requires us to obtain a portion of our electricity from qualifying renewable resources or through purchase of RECs and acquiring all cost effective conservation measures. Future generation resource decisions will be affected by legislation for restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy requirements.
See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition – Environmental Issues and Contingencies” and “Colstrip” for information related to existing and proposed laws and regulations, and issues relating to Colstrip.
Additional generating resources that we will require will either be owned by us or be owned by other parties who will sell the capacity and energy to us under PPAs. The decision as to ownership will be made as to each project at the appropriate time and will depend on, among other things, the type of project and the related economics, including tax and ratemaking treatment.
Request for Proposals for Renewable Energy
We sought proposals from renewable energy project developers who are capable of constructing, owning, and operating up to 120 aMWs whether through one or multiple proposals with a minimum net annual output of 20 aMW. We did not consider a self-build option for this facility or facilities.
Our intent is to secure the output from renewable generation resources, including electricity, capacity and associated environmental attributes. Our interest in acquiring new renewable energy resources is to offset market purchases and fossil-fuel thermal generation. This is consistent with our 2020 IRP which identifies that we will consider acquiring additional resources if such resources have lower long-term cost than electric market alternatives. Final bidders were selected for review in October 2020 and the Company is engaged in negotiating contracts with the successful bidders.
Wildfire Resiliency Plan
We are implementing additional measures to enhance our ability to mitigate the potential for, and impact of, wildfires within our service territories. Building on prevention and response strategies that have been in place for many years, we created a new comprehensive 10-year Wildfire Resiliency Plan that includes improved defense strategies and operating practices for a more resilient system.
We have developed the Wildfire Resiliency Plan through a series of internal workshops, industry research and engagement with state and local fire agencies. Improvements to infrastructure and operational practices were identified as key components to the plan. These key components are categorized into the following categories: grid hardening, vegetation management, situational awareness, operations and emergency response, and worker and public safety.
We expect to spend approximately $330 million implementing the plan components over the life of the 10-year plan. We filed deferred accounting requests in Washington and Idaho to defer the cost of the wildfire resiliency plan and seek recovery in
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future rate filings. In 2020, the IPUC issued an accounting order that allows us to defer the cost of the wildfire resiliency plan and seek recovery in future rate filings. Washington has consolidated this request with the 2020 general rate case proceedings.
See “Note 22 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” for further discussion on wildfires.
Natural Gas Operations
General Avista Utilities provides natural gas distribution services to retail customers in parts of eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and northeastern and southwestern Oregon.
Market prices for natural gas, like other commodities, can be volatile. Our natural gas procurement strategy is to provide a reliable supply to our customers with some level of price certainty. We procure natural gas from various supply basins and over varying time periods. The resulting portfolio is a diversified mix of forward fixed price purchases, index and spot market purchases, and utilizing physical and financial derivative instruments. We also use natural gas storage to support high demand periods and to procure natural gas when prices may be lower. Securing prices throughout the year and even into subsequent years provides a level of price certainty and can mitigate price volatility to customers between years.
Weather is a key component of our natural gas customer load. This load is highly variable and daily natural gas loads can differ significantly from the monthly forecasted load projections. We make continuing projections of our natural gas loads and assess available natural gas resources. On the basis of these projections, we plan and execute a series of transactions to hedge a portion of our customers' projected natural gas requirements through forward market transactions and derivative instruments. These transactions may extend for multiple years into the future. We also leave a portion of our natural gas supply requirements unhedged for purchase in the short-term spot markets.
Our purchase of natural gas supply is governed by our procurement plan and is reviewed and approved annually by the Risk Management Committee (RMC), which is comprised of certain officers and other management personnel. Once approval is received, the plan is implemented and monitored by our gas supply and risk management groups.
The plan’s progress is also presented to the WUTC and IPUC staff in semi-annual meetings, and updates are given to the OPUC staff quarterly. The RMC is provided with an update on plan results and changes in their monthly meetings. These activities provide transparency for the natural gas supply procurement plan. Any material changes to the plan are documented and communicated to RMC members.
As part of the process of balancing natural gas retail load requirements with resources, we engage in the wholesale purchase and sale of natural gas. We plan for sufficient natural gas delivery capacity to serve our retail customers for a theoretical peak day event. We generally have more pipeline and storage capacity than what is needed during periods other than a peak day. We optimize our natural gas resources by using market opportunities to generate economic value that helps mitigate fixed costs. Wholesale sales are delivered through wholesale market facilities outside of our natural gas distribution system. Natural gas resource optimization activities include, but are not limited to:
• wholesale market sales of surplus natural gas supplies,
• participation in the transportation capacity release market.
We also provide distribution transportation service to qualified, large commercial and industrial natural gas customers who purchase natural gas through third-party marketers. For these customers, we receive their purchased natural gas from such third-party marketers into our distribution system and deliver it to the customers’ premises. These customers generally pay the same rates as other customers in the same class, without any charge for the cost of the natural gas delivered.
Optimization transactions that we engage in throughout the year are included in our annual purchased gas cost adjustment filings with the various commissions and are subject to review for prudence during this process.
Natural Gas Supply Avista Utilities purchases all of its natural gas in wholesale markets. We are connected to multiple supply basins in the western United States and Canada through firm capacity transportation rights on six different pipeline networks.
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Access to this diverse portfolio of natural gas resources allows us to make natural gas procurement decisions that benefit our natural gas customers. These interstate pipeline transportation rights provide the capacity to serve approximately 25 percent of peak natural gas customer demands from domestic sources and 75 percent from Canadian sourced supply. Natural gas prices in the Pacific Northwest are affected by global energy markets, as well as supply and demand factors in other regions of the United States and Canada. Future prices and delivery constraints may cause our resource mix to vary.
Natural Gas Storage Avista Utilities owns a one-third interest in Jackson Prairie, an underground aquifer natural gas storage field located near Chehalis, Washington. Jackson Prairie has a total peak day deliverability of 12 million therms, with a total working natural gas capacity of 256 million therms. As an owner, our share is one-third of the peak day deliverability and total working capacity. We also contract for additional storage capacity and delivery at Jackson Prairie from Northwest Pipeline for a portion of their one-third share of the storage project.
We optimize our natural gas storage capacity throughout the year by executing transactions that capture favorable market price spreads. Natural gas buyers identify opportunities to purchase lower cost natural gas in the immediate term to inject into storage, and then sell the gas in a forward market to be withdrawn at a later time. The reverse of this type of transaction also occurs. These transactions lock in incremental value for customers. Jackson Prairie is also used as a variable peaking resource, and to protect from extreme daily price volatility during cold weather or other events affecting the market.
Future Resource Needs In August 2018, we filed our 2018 Natural Gas IRP with the WUTC, the IPUC and the OPUC. The IRP details projected growth in demand for energy and the new resources needed to serve customers over the next 20 years. We regard the IRP as a tool for resource evaluation, rather than an acquisition plan for a particular project.
Highlights of the 2018 natural gas IRP include the following expectations and/or assumptions:
We will monitor these assumptions on an on-going basis and adjust our resource requirements accordingly.
We are required to file a natural gas IRP every two years and we anticipate our next IRP to be filed in 2021. We filed petitions with the WUTC, IPUC and the OPUC in January 2020 to extend the current natural gas IRP from August 31, 2020 to April 1, 2021 because of the uncertainty created by new clean energy laws in Washington and Oregon. Each commission has approved the request. The most notable change in the 2021 IRP compared to the 2018 IRP is that we expect customer growth to decrease slightly from our 2018 IRP due to carbon reduction policies within our service territory.
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Utility Regulation
General As a public utility, Avista Corp. is subject to regulation by state utility commissions for retail electric and natural gas rates, accounting, the issuance of securities and other matters. The retail electric and natural gas operations are subject to the jurisdiction of the WUTC, IPUC, OPUC and MPSC. Approval of the issuance of securities is not required from the MPSC. We are also subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC for licensing of hydroelectric generation resources, and for electric transmission services and wholesale sales.
Since Avista Corp. is a “holding company” (in addition to being itself an operating utility), we are also subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC under the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, which imposes certain reporting and record-keeping requirements on Avista Corp. and its subsidiaries. We and our subsidiaries are required to make books and records available to the FERC and the state utility commissions. In addition, upon the request of any jurisdictional state utility commission, the FERC would have the authority to review assignment of costs of non-power goods and administrative services among us and our subsidiaries. The FERC has the authority generally to require that rates subject to its jurisdiction be just and reasonable and in this context would continue to be able to, among other things, review transactions of any affiliated company.
Our rates for retail electric and natural gas services (other than specially negotiated retail rates for industrial or large commercial customers, which are subject to regulatory review and approval) are generally determined on a “cost of service” basis.
Retail rates are designed to provide an opportunity for us to recover allowable operating expenses and earn a return of and a reasonable return on “rate base.” Rate base is generally determined by reference to the original cost (net of accumulated depreciation) of utility plant in service, subject to various adjustments for deferred income taxes and other items. Over time, rate base is increased by additions to utility plant in service and reduced by depreciation and write-offs as authorized by the utility commissions. Our operating expenses and rate base are allocated or directly assigned to five regulatory jurisdictions: electric in Washington and Idaho, and natural gas in Washington, Idaho and Oregon. In general, requests for new retail rates are made on the basis of revenues, operating expenses and net investment for a test year that ended prior to the date of the request, subject to possible adjustments, which differ among the various jurisdictions, designed to reflect the expected revenues, operating expenses and net investment during the period new retail rates will be in effect. The retail rates approved by the state commissions in a rate proceeding may not provide sufficient revenues to provide recovery of costs and a reasonable return on investment for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to, ongoing capital expenditures and unexpected changes in revenues and expenses following the time new retail rates are requested in the rate proceeding (known as “regulatory lag”), the denial by the commission of recovery, or timely recovery, of certain expenses or investment and the limitation by the commission of the authorized return on investment.
Our rates for wholesale electric sales and electric transmission services, as well as certain natural gas transportation services, are based on either “cost of service” principles or market-based rates as set forth by the FERC. See “Notes 1, 12 and 23 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” for additional information about regulation, depreciation and deferred income taxes.
General Rate Cases Avista Utilities regularly reviews the need for electric and natural gas rate changes in each state in which we provide service. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Regulatory Matters – General Rate Cases” for information on general rate case activity.
Power Cost Deferrals Avista Utilities defers the recognition in the income statement of certain power supply costs that vary from the level currently recovered from our retail customers as authorized by the WUTC and the IPUC. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Regulatory Matters – Power Cost Deferrals and Recovery Mechanisms” and “Note 23 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” for information on power cost deferrals and recovery mechanisms in Washington and Idaho.
Purchased Gas Adjustments (PGA) Under established regulatory practices in each state, Avista Utilities defers the recognition in the income statement of the natural gas costs that vary from the level currently recovered from our retail customers as authorized by each of our jurisdictions. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Regulatory Matters
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– Purchased Gas Adjustments” and “Note 23 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” for information on natural gas cost deferrals and recovery mechanisms in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.
Decoupling Mechanisms Decoupling (also known as FCA in Idaho) is a mechanism designed to sever the link between a utility's revenues and consumers' energy usage. In each of its jurisdictions, Avista Utilities' electric and natural gas revenues are adjusted so as to be based on the number of customers in certain customer rate classes and assumed "normal" usage, rather than being based on actual usage. The difference between revenues based on the number of customers and "normal" sales and revenues based on actual usage is deferred and either surcharged or rebated to customers beginning in the following year. See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Regulatory Matters – Decoupling and Earnings Sharing Mechanisms” for further discussion of these mechanisms.
Federal Laws Related to Wholesale Competition
Federal law promotes practices that foster competition in the electric wholesale energy market. The FERC requires electric utilities to transmit power and energy to or for wholesale purchasers and sellers, and requires electric utilities to enhance or construct transmission facilities to create additional transmission capacity for the purpose of providing these services. Public utilities (through subsidiaries or affiliates) and other entities may participate in the development of independent electric generating plants for sales to wholesale customers.
Public utilities operating under the FPA are required to provide open and non-discriminatory access to their transmission systems to third parties and establish an Open Access Same-Time Information System to provide an electronic means by which transmission customers can obtain information about available transmission capacity and purchase transmission access. The FERC also requires each public utility subject to the rules to operate its transmission and wholesale power merchant operating functions separately and to comply with standards of conduct designed to ensure that all wholesale users, including the public utility’s power merchant operations, have equal access to the public utility’s transmission system. Our compliance with these standards has not had any substantive impact on the operation, maintenance and marketing of our transmission system or our ability to provide service to customers.
See “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis – Competition” for further information.
Regional Transmission Planning
Beginning with FERC Order No. 888 and continuing with subsequent rulemakings and policies, the FERC has encouraged better coordination and operational consistency aimed to capture efficiencies that might otherwise be gained through the formation of a Regional Transmission Organization or an independent system operator (ISO).
The Company currently meets its FERC requirements to coordinate transmission planning activities with other regional entities through NorthernGrid. Launched January 1, 2020, NorthernGrid is an association of all major transmission providers throughout the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West, with facilities in California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Through its participation in NorthernGrid, the Company is able to meet the regional transmission planning requirements of FERC Order Nos. 890 and 1000, and their follow-on orders. NorthernGrid and its members also work with other western organizations, including WestConnect and the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), to address broader interregional planning. Neither the costs nor requirements of participating in NorthernGrid’s coordinated transmission planning activities are expected to materially impact the Company’s operations or financial performance.
Regional Energy Markets
The CAISO operates the Western Energy Imbalance Market (EIM) in the western United States. Most investor-owned utilities in the Pacific Northwest are either participants in the Western EIM or plan to integrate into the market in the near future. The Company has announced its decision to participate in the Western EIM and is slated to commence EIM operations by April 2022. The decision to join the Western EIM is based on a number of factors, including the amount of expected variable generating resources the Company will need to integrate within its balancing authority area in the foreseeable future, and the expected costs and benefits associated with joining the Western EIM. The EIM, among other things, facilitates regional load balancing by allowing certain generating plants to receive automated dispatch signals from the CAISO in five-minute intervals.
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Reliability Standards
Among its other provisions, the U.S. Energy Policy Act provides for the implementation of mandatory reliability standards and authorizes the FERC to assess penalties for non-compliance with these standards and other FERC regulations.
The FERC has certified the NERC as the single Electric Reliability Organization authorized to establish and enforce reliability standards and delegate authority to regional entities for the purpose of establishing and enforcing reliability standards, including but not limited to cybersecurity measures. The FERC approves NERC Reliability Standards, including western region standards that make up the set of legally enforceable standards for the United States bulk electric system. We are required to self-certify our compliance with these standards on an annual basis and undergo regularly scheduled periodic reviews by the NERC and its regional entity, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). Failure to comply with NERC reliability standards could result in substantial financial penalties. We have a robust internal compliance program in place to manage compliance activities and mitigate the risk of potential noncompliance with these standards. We do not expect the costs associated with compliance with these standards to have a material impact on our financial results.
As both a balancing authority and transmission operator, the Company must operate under the oversight of a reliability coordinator per NERC reliability standards. RC West is the reliability coordinator of record for 41 balancing authorities and transmission operators in the Western Interconnection, including Avista Corp. RC West oversees grid compliance with federal and regional grid standards, and can determine measures to prevent or mitigate system emergencies in day-ahead or real-time operations.
Executive Order re Securing the United States Bulk Power System
In May 2020, then-President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Securing the United States Bulk-Power System,” which purports to limit the acquisition, importation, transfer or installation of bulk power system equipment sourced from foreign adversaries. On January 20, 2021, newly-elected President Joe Biden suspended the Executive Order for 90 days and directed the Secretary of Energy and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to recommend whether a replacement order should be issued. Pending the outcome of that review, as well as future rulemaking that may occur in relation to the same, we cannot predict the potential impacts of the order. We will seek recovery of any associated costs through the ratemaking process.
Vulnerability to Cyberattack
The energy sector, particularly electric and natural gas utility companies in the United States and abroad, have become the subject of cyberattacks and ransomware attacks with increased frequency. The Company’s administrative and operating networks are targeted by hackers on a regular basis.
A successful attack on the Company’s administrative networks could compromise the security and privacy of data, including operating, financial and personal information. A successful attack on the Company’s operating networks could impair the operation of the Company’s electric and/or natural gas utility facilities, possibly resulting in the inability to provide electric and/or natural gas service for extended periods of time.
The Company continually reinforces and updates its defensive systems and is in compliance with NERC’s reliability standards. See “Reliability Standards," "Item 1A. Risk Factors – Cyber and Technology Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Enterprise Risk Management – Cyber and Technology Risks” for further information.
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AVISTA UTILITIES ELECTRIC OPERATING STATISTICS
Years Ended December 31,
ELECTRIC OPERATIONS
OPERATING REVENUES (Dollars in Thousands):
Deferrals and amortizations for rate refunds to customers 3,539 3,141 (11,477 )
ENERGY SALES (Thousands of MWhs):
Public street and highway lighting 18 18 18
ENERGY RESOURCES (Thousands of MWhs):
Thermal generation (from Company facilities) 3,474 4,054 3,424
Energy losses and Company use (486 ) (471 ) (488 )
NUMBER OF RETAIL CUSTOMERS (Average for Period):
Public street and highway lighting 639 612 594
RESIDENTIAL SERVICE AVERAGES:
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AVISTA UTILITIES ELECTRIC OPERATING STATISTICS
Years Ended December 31,
RETAIL NATIVE LOAD at time of system peak (MW):
COOLING DEGREE DAYS: (1)
Spokane, WA
HEATING DEGREE DAYS: (2)
Spokane, WA
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AVISTA UTILITIES NATURAL GAS OPERATING STATISTICS
Years Ended December 31,
NATURAL GAS OPERATIONS
OPERATING REVENUES (Dollars in Thousands):
Deferrals and amortizations for rate refunds to customers 1,797 1,368 (6,764 )
THERMS DELIVERED (Thousands of Therms):
NUMBER OF RETAIL CUSTOMERS (Average for Period):
RESIDENTIAL SERVICE AVERAGES:
Revenue per therm (in dollars) $ 0.97 $ 0.85 $ 0.93
HEATING DEGREE DAYS: (1)
Spokane, WA
Medford, OR
ALASKA ELECTRIC LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY
AEL&P is the primary operating subsidiary of AERC. AEL&P is the sole utility providing electrical energy in Juneau, Alaska. Juneau is a geographically isolated community with no electric interconnections with the transmission facilities of other utilities
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and no pipeline access to natural gas or other fuels. Juneau’s economy is primarily driven by government activities, tourism, commercial fishing, and mining, as well as activities as the commercial hub of southeast Alaska.
AEL&P owns and operates electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities located in Juneau. AEL&P operates five hydroelectric generation facilities with 102.7 MW of hydroelectric generation capacity as of December 31, 2020. AEL&P owns four of these generation facilities (totaling 24.5 MW of capacity) and has a PPA for the entire output of the Snettisham hydroelectric project (totaling 78.2 MW of capacity).
The Snettisham hydroelectric project is owned by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), a public corporation of the State of Alaska. AIDEA issued revenue bonds in 1998 (which were refinanced in 2015) to finance its acquisition of the project. These bonds were outstanding in the amount of $51.8 million at December 31, 2020 and mature in January 2034. AEL&P has a PPA and operating and maintenance agreement with the AIDEA to operate and maintain the facility. This PPA is a take-or-pay obligation, expiring in December 2038, to purchase all of the output of the project. AIDEA's bonds are payable solely out of the revenues received under the PPA. Amounts payable by AEL&P under the PPA are equal to the required debt service on the bonds plus operating and maintenance costs.
This PPA is a finance lease and, as of December 31, 2020, the finance lease obligation was $51.8 million. Snettisham Electric Company, a non-operating subsidiary of AERC, has the option to purchase the Snettisham project at any time for a price equal to the principal amount of the bonds outstanding at that time. See "Note 5 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" for further discussion of the Snettisham finance lease obligation.
As of December 31, 2020, AEL&P also had 107.5 MW of diesel generating capacity from four facilities to provide back-up service to firm customers when necessary.
The following graph shows AEL&P's hydroelectric generation (in thousands of MWhs) during the time periods indicated below:
As of December 31, 2020, AEL&P served approximately 17,000 customers. Its primary customers include city, state and federal governmental entities located in Juneau, as well as a mine located in the Juneau area. Most of AEL&P’s customers are
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served on a firm basis while certain of its customers, including its largest customer, are served on an interruptible sales basis. AEL&P maintains separate rate tariffs for each of its customer classes, as well as seasonal rates.
AEL&P’s operations are subject to regulation by the RCA with respect to rates, standard of service, facilities, accounting and certain other matters, but not with respect to the issuance of securities. Rate adjustments for AEL&P’s customers require approval by the RCA pursuant to RCA regulations.
AEL&P is also subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC with respect to permits and licenses necessary to operate certain of its hydroelectric facilities. One of these licenses (for the Salmon Creek and Annex Creek hydroelectric projects) was renewed for 40 years, effective September 1, 2018. Since AEL&P has no electric interconnection with other utilities and makes no wholesale sales, it is not subject to general FERC jurisdiction, other than the reporting and other requirements of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005 as an Avista Corp. subsidiary.
The Snettisham hydroelectric project is subject to regulation by the State of Alaska with respect to dam safety and certain aspects of its operations. In addition, AEL&P is subject to regulation with respect to air and water quality, land use and other environmental matters under both federal and state laws.
AEL&P ELECTRIC OPERATING STATISTICS
Years Ended December 31,
ELECTRIC OPERATIONS
OPERATING REVENUES (Dollars in Thousands):
Public street and highway lighting 251 254 263
ENERGY SALES (Thousands of MWhs):
Public street and highway lighting 1 1 1
NUMBER OF RETAIL CUSTOMERS (Average for Period):
Public street and highway lighting 228 228 224
RESIDENTIAL SERVICE AVERAGES:
HEATING DEGREE DAYS: (1)
Juneau, AK
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OTHER BUSINESSES
The following table shows our assets related to our other businesses, including intercompany amounts as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 (dollars in thousands):
Avista Capital
Unconsolidated equity investments $ 59,318 $ 51,259
Alaska companies (AERC and AJT Mining) 9,803 9,525
Avista Capital
• Real estate consists of mixed use commercial, retail office space, and land.
Alaska companies
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
RISK FACTORS
The following factors could have a significant impact on our operations, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. These factors could cause future results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in our reports filed with the SEC (including this Annual Report on Form 10-K), and elsewhere. Please also see “Forward-Looking Statements” for additional factors which could have a significant impact on our operations, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows and could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Utility Regulatory Risk Factors
Regulators may not grant rates that provide timely or sufficient recovery of our costs or allow a reasonable rate of return for our shareholders.
Avista Utilities' annual operating expenses and the costs associated with incremental investments in utility assets continue to grow at a faster rate than revenue. Our ability to recover these expenses and capital costs depends on the adequacy and timeliness of retail rate increases allowed by regulatory agencies. We expect to periodically file for rate increases with regulatory agencies to recover our expenses and capital costs and provide an opportunity to earn a reasonable rate of return for shareholders. If regulators do not grant rate increases or grant substantially lower rate increases than our requests in the future or if recovery of deferred expenses is disallowed, it could have a negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. See further discussion of regulatory matters in "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis – Regulatory Matters."
In the future, we may no longer meet the criteria for continued application of regulatory accounting principles for all or a portion of our regulated operations.
If we could no longer apply regulatory accounting principles, we could be:
• required to write off our regulatory assets, and be
See further discussion at "Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Regulatory Deferred Charges and Credits."
Operational Risk Factors
Wildfires ignited, or allegedly ignited, by Avista Corp. equipment or facilities, could cause significant loss of life and property, thereby causing serious operational and financial harm to Avista Corp. and our customers.
Our equipment may be the ignition, or alleged cause of ignition, source for wildfires and in the event of a fire caused by our equipment, we could potentially be held liable for resulting damages to life and property, as well as fire suppression costs. Also, wildfires could lead to extended operational outages of our equipment while we wait for the wildfire to be extinguished before restoring power, and the cost to implement rapid response or any repair to such facilities could be significant. Any wildfires caused by our equipment could cause significant damage to our reputation, which could erode shareholder, customer and community satisfaction with our Company. In addition, wildfires caused by our equipment could lead to increased insurance costs, loss of insurance coverage, the need to be self-insured or the need to consider non-traditional insurance coverage or other risk mitigation procedures.
The COVID 19 pandemic is disrupting our business and could have a negative effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
The COVID-19 pandemic is currently impacting our business, as well as the global, national and local economy. We cannot predict the full extent to which COVID-19 will impact our operations, results of operations, cash flows, financial condition or capital resources. It is possible that the continued spread of COVID-19 and efforts to contain the virus will continue to cause an economic slowdown, resulting in significant disruptions in various public, commercial or industrial activities and causing
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employee absences which could interfere with operation and maintenance of the Company’s facilities. Any of these circumstances could adversely affect our operations, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows in many ways, including, but not limited to:
We cannot predict the duration and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. The longer and more severe the economic restrictions and business disruptions are, the greater the impact on our operations, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows will be.
We are subject to various operational and event risks.
Our operations are subject to operational and event risks that include:
• unplanned outages at generating plants,
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Disasters could affect the general economy, financial and capital markets, specific industries, or our ability to conduct business. As protection against operational and event risks, we maintain business continuity and disaster recovery plans, maintain insurance coverage against some, but not all, potential losses and we seek to negotiate indemnification arrangements with contractors for certain event risks. However, insurance or indemnification agreements may not be adequate to protect us against liability, extra expenses and operating disruptions from all of the operational and event risks described above. In addition, we are subject to the risk that insurers and/or other parties will dispute or be unable to perform on their obligations to us. If insurance or indemnification agreements are unable to adequately protect us or reimburse us for out-of-pocket costs, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Damage to facilities could be caused by severe weather or natural disasters, such as snow, ice, wind storms, wildfires, earthquakes or avalanches. The cost to implement rapid response or any repair to such facilities can be significant. Overhead electric lines are most susceptible to damage caused by severe weather and are not covered by insurance.
Adverse impacts to AEL&P could result from an extended outage of its hydroelectric generating resources or its inability to deliver energy, due to its lack of interconnectivity to any other electrical grids and the cost of replacement power (diesel).
AEL&P operates several hydroelectric power generation facilities and has diesel generating capacity from multiple facilities to provide backup service to firm customers when necessary; however, a single hydroelectric power generation facility, the Snettisham hydroelectric project, provides approximately two-thirds of AEL&P’s hydroelectric power generation. Any issues that negatively affect AEL&P's ability to generate or transmit power or any decrease in the demand for the power generated by AEL&P could negatively affect our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Cyber and Technology Risk Factors
Cyberattacks, ransomware, terrorism or other malicious acts could disrupt our businesses and have a negative impact on our results of operations and cash flows.
In the course of our operations, we rely on interconnected technology systems for operation of our generating plants, electric transmission and distribution systems, natural gas distribution systems, customer billing and customer service, accounting and other administrative processes and compliance with various regulations. In addition, in the ordinary course of business, we collect and retain sensitive information including personal information about our customers and employees.
Cyberattacks, ransomware, terrorism or other malicious acts could damage, destroy or disrupt these systems for an extended period of time. The energy sector, particularly electric and natural gas utility companies have become the subject of cyberattacks with increased frequency. Our administrative and operating networks are targeted by hackers on a regular basis. Additionally, the facilities and systems of clients, suppliers and third party service providers could be vulnerable to the same cyber or terrorism risks as our facilities and systems and such third party systems may be interconnected to our systems both physically and technologically. Therefore, an event caused by cyberattacks, ransomware or other malicious act at an interconnected third party could impact our business and facilities similarly. Any failure, unexpected, or unauthorized use of technology systems could result in the unavailability of such systems, and could result in a loss of operating revenues, an increase in operating expenses and costs to repair or replace damaged assets. Any of the above could also result in the loss or release of confidential customer and/or employee information or other proprietary data that could adversely affect our reputation and competitiveness, could result in costly litigation and negatively impact our results of operations. These cyberattacks have become more common and sophisticated and, as such, we could be required to incur costs to strengthen our systems and respond to emerging concerns.
Terrorist attacks could also be directed at our physical electric and natural gas facilities, as well as technology systems or at an interconnected third party, which could result in disruption to our systems.
There are various risks associated with technology systems such as hardware or software failure, communications failure, data distortion or destruction, unauthorized access to data, misuse of proprietary or confidential data, unauthorized control through electronic means, programming mistakes and other deliberate or inadvertent human errors.
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Our technology may become obsolete or we may not have sufficient resources to manage our technology.
Our technology may become obsolete before the end of its useful life. In addition, custom technology that is heavily relied upon by us may not be maintained and updated appropriately due to resource restraints, or other factors, which could cause technology failures or give rise to additional operational or security risks. Technology failures could result in significant adverse effects on our physical operations, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
We may be adversely affected by our inability to successfully implement certain technology projects.
There are inherent risks associated with replacing and changing systems, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows. Finally, there is the risk that we ultimately do not complete a project and will incur contract cancellation or other costs, which could be significant.
Strategic Risk Factors
Our strategic business plans, which may be affected by any or all of the foregoing, may change, including the entry into new businesses and/or the exit from existing businesses and/or the curtailment of our business development efforts where potential future business is uncertain.
Our strategic business plans could be affected by or result in any of the following:
• non-regulated investments may increase earnings volatility,
• the risk of municipalization or other form of service territory reduction.
External Mandates Risk Factors
External mandate risk involves forces outside the Company, which may include significant changes in customer expectations, disruptive technologies that result in obsolescence of our business model and government action that could impact the Company.
Actions or limitations to address concerns over long-term climate change, both globally and within our utilities' service areas, may affect our operations and financial performance.
Legislative, regulatory and advocacy efforts at the state, national and international levels concerning climate change and other environmental issues could have significant impacts on our operations. The electric and natural gas utility industries are frequently affected by proposals to curb greenhouse gas and other air emissions. Various regulatory and legislative proposals have been made to limit or further restrict byproducts of combustion, including that resulting from the use of natural gas by our customers. In addition, regionally, there are a number of regulatory and legislative initiatives that have been passed which are designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions and increase the use of renewable sources of energy. Such legislation could restrict the operation and raise the costs of our power generation resources as well as the distribution of natural gas to our customers.
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We expect continuing activity in the future and we are evaluating the extent to which potential changes to environmental laws and regulations may:
• increase the operating costs of generating plants,
• require modification of our existing generating plants,
• require existing generating plant operations to be curtailed or shut down,
• reduce the amount of energy available from our generating plants,
• restrict the types of generating plants that can be built or contracted with,
• increase the cost or limit our ability to distribute natural gas to customers.
See “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis – Environmental Issues and Contingencies" for discussion regarding environmental and other issues which may affect our operations, including the CETA that was recently passed in Washington State.
We have contingent liabilities, including certain matters related to potential environmental liabilities, and cannot predict the outcome of these matters.
In the normal course of our business, we have matters that are the subject of ongoing litigation, mediation, investigation and/or negotiation. We cannot predict the ultimate outcome or potential impact of any particular issue, including the extent, if any, of insurance coverage or that amounts payable by us may be recoverable through the ratemaking process. We are subject to environmental regulation by federal, state and local authorities related to our past, present and future operations. See “Note 22 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements” for further details of these matters.
Import tariffs could lead to increased prices on raw materials that are critical to our business.
Tariffs and other restrictions on trade with foreign countries could significantly increase the prices of raw materials that are critical to our business, such as steel poles or wires. In addition, tariffs and trade restrictions could have a similar impact on our suppliers and certain customers, which could have a negative impact on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
See "Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis – Environmental Issues and Contingencies" and "Forward-Looking Statements" for discussion of or reference to additional external mandates which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Financial Risk Factors
Weather (temperatures, precipitation levels, wind patterns and storms) has a significant effect on our results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
Weather impacts are described in the following subtopics:
• certain retail electricity and natural gas sales,
• the cost of natural gas supply, and
• the cost of power supply.
Certain retail electricity and natural gas sales volumes vary directly with changes in temperatures. We normally have our highest retail (electric and natural gas) energy sales during the winter heating season in the first and fourth quarters of the year. We also have high electricity demand for air conditioning during the summer (third quarter). In general, warmer weather in the heating season and cooler weather in the cooling season will reduce our customers’ energy demand and our retail operating revenues. The revenue and earnings impact of weather fluctuations is somewhat mitigated by our decoupling mechanisms;
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however, we could experience liquidity constraints during the period between when decoupling revenue is earned and when it is subsequently collected from customers through retail rates.
The cost of natural gas supply is impacted by both supply-side factors (amount of natural gas production, level of natural gas in storage, volumes of natural gas imports and exports) and demand-side factors (variations in winter and summer weather, level of economic growth, availability and prices of other fuels). Prices tend to increase with higher demand during periods of cold weather. Inter-regional natural gas pipelines and competition for supply can allow demand-driven price volatility in other regions of North America to affect prices in the Pacific Northwest, even though there may be less extreme weather conditions in the Pacific Northwest. Increased costs adversely affect cash flows when we purchase natural gas for retail supply at prices above the amount allowed for recovery in retail rates. We defer differences between actual natural gas supply costs and the amount currently recovered in retail rates and we are generally allowed to recover substantially all of these differences after regulatory review. However, these deferred costs require cash outflows from the time of natural gas purchases until the costs are later recovered through retail sales.
The cost of power supply can be significantly affected by weather. Precipitation (consisting of snowpack, its water content and melting pattern plus rainfall) and other streamflow conditions (such as regional water storage operations) significantly affect hydroelectric generation capability. Variations in hydroelectric generation inversely affect our reliance on market purchases and thermal generation. To the extent that hydroelectric generation is less than normal, significantly more costly power supply resources must be acquired and the ability to realize net benefits from surplus hydroelectric wholesale sales is reduced. Wholesale prices also vary based on wind patterns as wind generation capacity is material in the Pacific Northwest but its contribution to supply is inconsistent.
The price of power in the wholesale energy markets tends to be higher during periods of high regional demand, such as occurs with temperature extremes. We may need to purchase power in the wholesale market during peak price periods. The price of natural gas as fuel for natural gas-fired electric generation also tends to increase during periods of high demand which are often related to temperature extremes. We may need to purchase natural gas fuel in these periods of high prices to meet electric demands. The cost of power supply during peak usage periods may be higher than the retail sales price or the amount allowed in retail rates by our regulators. To the extent that power supply costs are above the amount allowed currently in retail rates, the difference is partially absorbed by the Company in current expense and is partially deferred or shared with customers through regulatory mechanisms.
The price of power tends to be lower during periods with excess supply, such as the spring when hydroelectric conditions are usually at their maximum and various facilities are required to operate to meet environmental mandates. Oversupply can be exacerbated when intermittent resources such as wind generation are producing output that may be supported by price subsidies. In extreme situations, we may be required to sell excess energy at negative prices.
As a result of these combined factors, our net cost of power supply – the difference between our costs of generation and market purchases, reduced by our revenue from wholesale sales – varies significantly because of weather.
We rely on regular access to financial markets but we cannot assure favorable or reasonable financing terms will be available when we need them.
Access to capital markets is critical to our operations and our capital structure. We have significant capital requirements that we expect to fund, in part, by accessing capital markets. As such, the state of financial markets and credit availability in the global, United States and regional economies impacts our financial condition. We could experience increased borrowing costs or limited access to capital on reasonable terms.
We access long-term capital markets to finance capital expenditures, repay maturing long-term debt and obtain additional working capital from time-to-time. Our ability to access capital on reasonable terms is subject to numerous factors and market conditions, many of which are beyond our control. If we are unable to obtain capital on reasonable terms, it may limit or prohibit our ability to finance capital expenditures and repay maturing long-term debt. Our liquidity needs could exceed our short-term credit availability and lead to defaults on various financing arrangements. We would also likely be prohibited from paying dividends on our common stock.
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Performance of the financial markets could also result in significant declines in the market values of assets held by our pension plan and/or a significant increase in the pension liability (which impacts the funded status of the plan) and could increase future funding obligations and pension expense.
We rely on credit from financial institutions for short-term borrowings. We need adequate levels of credit with financial institutions for short-term liquidity. There is no assurance that we will have access to credit beyond the expiration dates of our committed line of credit agreements. These agreements contain customary covenants and default provisions.
Any default on the lines of credit or other financing arrangements of Avista Corp. or any of our “significant subsidiaries,” if any, could result in cross-defaults to other agreements of such entity, and/or to the line of credit or other financing arrangements of any other of such entities. Any defaults could also induce vendors and other counterparties to demand collateral. In the event of any such default, it would be difficult for us to obtain financing on reasonable terms to pay creditors or fund operations. We would also likely be prohibited from paying dividends on our common stock.
We hedge a portion of our interest rate risk with financial derivative instruments. If market interest rates decrease below the interest rates we have locked in, this will result in a liability related to our interest rate swap derivatives, which can be significant. We may be required to post cash or letters of credit as collateral depending on fluctuations in the fair value of the derivative instruments. Settlement of interest rate swap derivative instruments in a liability position could require a significant amount of cash, which could negatively impact our liquidity and short-term credit availability and increase interest expense over the term of the associated debt.
Downgrades in our credit ratings could impede our ability to obtain financing, adversely affect the terms of financing and impact our ability to transact for or hedge energy resources. If we do not maintain our investment grade credit rating with the major credit rating agencies, we could expect increased debt service costs, limitations on our ability to access capital markets or obtain other financing on reasonable terms, and requirements to provide collateral (in the form of cash or letters of credit) to lenders and counterparties. In addition, credit rating downgrades could reduce the number of counterparties willing to do business with us or result in the termination of outstanding regulatory authorizations for certain financing activities.
Credit risk may be affected by industry concentration and geographic concentration.
We have concentrations of suppliers and customers in the electric and natural gas industries including:
• electric and natural gas utilities,
• electric generators and transmission providers,
• oil and natural gas producers and pipelines,
• energy marketing and trading companies.
We have concentrations of credit risk related to our geographic location in the western United States and western Canada energy markets. These concentrations of counterparties and concentrations of geographic location may affect our overall exposure to credit risk because the counterparties may be similarly affected by changes in conditions.
Energy Commodity Risk Factors
Energy commodity price changes affect our cash flows and results of operations.
Energy commodity pricescan be volatile. We rely on energy markets and other counterparties for energy supply, surplus and optimization transactions and commodity price hedging. A combination of factors exposes our operations to commodity price risks, including:
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Because we must supply the amount of energy demanded by our customers and we must sell it at fixed rates and only a portion of our energy supply costs are fixed, we are subject to the risk of buying energy at higher prices in wholesale energy markets (and the risk of selling energy at lower prices if we are in a surplus position). Electricity and natural gas in wholesale markets are commodities with historically high price volatility. Changes in wholesale energy prices affect, among other things, the cash requirements to purchase electricity and natural gas for retail customers or wholesale obligations and the market value of derivative assets and liabilities.
When we enter into fixed price energy commodity transactions for future delivery, we are subject to credit terms that may require us to provide collateral to wholesale counterparties related to the difference between current prices and the agreed upon fixed prices. These collateral requirements can place significant demands on our cash flows or borrowing arrangements. Price volatility can cause collateral requirements to change quickly and significantly.
Cash flow deferrals related to energy commodities can be significant. We are permitted to collect from customers only amounts approved by regulatory commissions. However, our costs to provide energy service can be much higher or lower than the amounts currently billed to customers. We are permitted to defer income statement recognition and recovery from customers for some of these differences, which are recorded as deferred charges with the opportunity for future recovery through retail rates. These deferred costs are subject to review for prudence and potential disallowance by regulators, who have discretion as to the extent and timing of future recovery or refund to customers.
Power and natural gas costs higher than those recovered in retail rates reduce cash flows. Amounts that are not allowed for deferral or which are not approved to become part of customer rates affect our results of operations.
Even if our regulators ultimately allow us to recover deferred power and natural gas costs, our operating cash flows can be negatively affected until these costs are recovered from customers.
Fluctuating energy commodity prices and volumes in relation to our energy risk management process can cause volatility in our cash flows and results of operations. We engage in active hedging and resource optimization practices to reduce energy cost volatility and economic exposure related to commodity price fluctuations. We routinely enter into contracts to hedge a portion of our purchase and sale commitments for electricity and natural gas, as well as forecasted excess or deficit energy positions and inventories of natural gas. We use physical energy contracts and derivative instruments, such as forwards, futures, swaps and options traded in the over-the-counter markets or on exchanges. If market prices decrease compared to the prices we have locked in with our energy commodity derivatives, this will result in a liability related to these derivatives, which can be significant. As a result of price fluctuations, we may be required to post significant amounts of cash or letters of credit as collateral depending on fluctuations in the fair value of the derivative instruments.
We do not attempt to fully hedge our energy resource assets or our forecasted net positions for various time horizons. To the extent we have positions that are not hedged, or if hedging positions do not fully match the corresponding purchase or sale, fluctuating commodity prices could have a material effect on our operating revenues, resource costs, derivative assets and liabilities, and operating cash flows. In addition, actual loads and resources typically vary from forecasts, sometimes to a significant degree, which require additional transactions or dispatch decisions that impact cash flows.
The hedges we enter into are reviewed for prudence by our various regulators and any deferred costs (including those as a result of our hedging transactions) are subject to review for prudence and potential disallowance by regulators.
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Generation plants may become obsolete. We rely on a variety of generation and energy commodity market sources to fulfill our obligation to serve customers and meet the demands of our counterparty agreements. There is the potential that some of our generation sources, such as coal, may become obsolete or be prematurely retired through regulatory action or legislation. This could result in higher commodity costs to replace the lost generation, as well as higher costs to retire the generation source before the end of its expected life. See “Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis – Environmental Issues and Contingencies" for discussion regarding environmental and other issues surrounding Colstrip, including the requirement that we cannot serve Washington electricity customers after 2025 with Colstrip.
Compliance Risk Factors
There have been numerous changes in legislation, related administrative rulemakings, and Executive Orders, including periodic audits of compliance with such rules, which may adversely affect our operational and financial performance.
We expect to continue to be affected by legislation at the national, state and local level, as well as by administrative rules and requirements published by government agencies, including but not limited to the FERC, the EPA and state regulators. We are also subject to NERC and WECC reliability standards. The FERC, the NERC and the WECC perform periodic audits of the Company. Failure to comply with the FERC, the NERC, or the WECC requirements can result in financial penalties.
Future legislation, administrative rules or Executive Orders could have a material adverse effect on our operations, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
As of the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have no unresolved comments from the staff of the SEC.
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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
AVISTA UTILITIES
Substantially all of Avista Utilities' properties are subject to the lien of Avista Corp.'s mortgage indenture.
Avista Utilities' electric properties, located in the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon, include the following:
Generation Properties
No. of Units Nameplate Rating (MW) (1) Present Capability (MW) (2)
Hydroelectric Generating Stations (River)
Washington:
Idaho:
Montana: