Avista electric rates and bills in north Idaho

Three Avista prices, three periods

"Avista rates per kWh" has more than one honest answer, because EIA measures the price over different periods. All three figures below are average prices for Avista's 129,181¹ bundled residential customers in Idaho: residential revenue, including the basic charge and the adjustment schedules but excluding most taxes, divided by residential kWh sold. None is the energy charge printed in a rate schedule.

The annual figures come from EIA's full survey of utilities (form EIA-861); the 12-month and single-month figures come from its monthly sample (EIA-861M), in which every month since January 2026 is preliminary. Calendar 2025 was a quiet year: the average rose 1.9%, and the bill changed by +4.1%¹ as use per home edged up. The 12-month window shows the change that came after it, with the average bill higher than in 2025 on less electricity per home.

AvistaIdaho average, all providers

Source: EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility; EIA, Electric Power Monthly / EIA-861M sales and revenue by state. Residential revenue divided by kWh in each month, as reported to EIA's monthly survey (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary).

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Month	Avista (¢/kWh)	kWh per customer	Bill per customer
January 2025	10.96¢	1,246	$136.60
February 2025	11.01¢	1,181	$129.98
March 2025	11.50¢	930	$106.95
April 2025	11.86¢	772	$91.60
May 2025	12.08¢	701	$84.66
June 2025	11.91¢	753	$89.62
July 2025	11.47¢	921	$105.58
August 2025	11.59¢	893	$103.51
September 2025	12.61¢	736	$92.74
October 2025	13.23¢	686	$90.73
November 2025	12.56¢	928	$116.56
December 2025	12.38¢	1,058	$130.93
January 2026	11.94¢	1,217	$145.32
February 2026	12.50¢	910	$113.85
March 2026	12.90¢	921	$118.76
April 2026	12.80¢	728	$93.15
May 2026	13.46¢	700	$94.23
June 2026	13.79¢	655	$90.39
July 2026	13.01¢	918	$119.44
August 2026	13.19¢	862	$113.79

The rate steps of September 2025 and 2026

Avista's Idaho prices are set by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, separately from its Washington prices. On August 29, 2025, the commission approved an all-party settlement of Avista's Idaho general rate case: a base-rate increase for electric customers effective September 1, 2025, and a second increase effective September 1, 2026, according to the commission's news release of September 2, 2025. The commission approved the tariffs for the second step in an order dated August 3, 2026; the full record is in case AVU-E-25-01.

A month later, on October 1, 2025, Avista's four annual adjustment rates changed. The commission approved them together, for a net increase on the average residential bill: the fixed cost adjustment moved from a rebate to a surcharge, the credit from the federal Columbia River power system's Residential Exchange Program shrank, and the energy efficiency rider rose to cover an underfunded balance, while the power cost adjustment rebate grew because wholesale electricity and natural gas cost less than the amounts built into rates.

Both changes sit inside EIA's latest 12 months, which begin in September 2025. The August 2026 comparison is the most direct: 13.19¢ per kWh, +13.8%² against August 2025, a month that predates both. Over the same 12 months, Idaho's statewide residential average was 12.77¢ per kWh, +9.8%⁴ on the 12 months before. The September 2026 step falls after the latest month EIA has published; the rate increase guide explains how base rates and annual adjustments differ.

January sets the bill

Avista's Idaho homes use the most electricity in winter. In EIA's monthly data for September 2025 to August 2026, use per home peaked at 1,217 kWh in January 2026, with an average bill of $145.32, and bottomed out at 655 kWh in June 2026, when the bill averaged $90.39².

736Sep

686Oct

928Nov

1,058Dec

1,217Jan

910Feb

921Mar

728Apr

700May

655Jun

918Jul

862Aug

Source: EIA-861M monthly sales and revenue by utility. kWh per residential customer in each month (EIA-861M; months since January 2026 preliminary). The table adds the average bill and price for the month.

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Month	kWh per customer	Bill per customer	¢/kWh
September 2025	736	$92.74	12.61¢
October 2025	686	$90.73	13.23¢
November 2025	928	$116.56	12.56¢
December 2025	1,058	$130.93	12.38¢
January 2026	1,217	$145.32	11.94¢
February 2026	910	$113.85	12.50¢
March 2026	921	$118.76	12.90¢
April 2026	728	$93.15	12.80¢
May 2026	700	$94.23	13.46¢
June 2026	655	$90.39	13.79¢
July 2026	918	$119.44	13.01¢
August 2026	862	$113.79	13.19¢

That calendar is the reverse of southern Idaho's. Idaho Power, the state's largest utility, peaks in summer, in July 2026² in the same 12 months. Statewide, the Census Bureau found that 36.7%⁵ of Idaho households heated mainly with electricity in 2025 (a survey estimate), and Idaho averaged 6,782 heating degree days a year over 2016 to 2025, the 10th highest⁶ among the 48 contiguous states and DC. For an Avista customer, a price change therefore weighs most on the January bill.

Close to the Idaho average, low nationally

In 2025, Avista's 11.84¢ per kWh was 0.1% above the Idaho average and ranked 4th highest of the 7 Idaho utilities with 10,000 or more residential customers. The range among them ran from 9.60¢ per kWh at City of Idaho Falls to 13.53¢ per kWh at PacifiCorp. Across the country, Avista Idaho ranked 13th lowest of 177 large utilities, against a median of 15.07¢ per kWh, and its average was 33.4% below the national average for investor-owned utilities¹.

City of Idaho Falls9.60¢

Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative11.11¢

Idaho Power11.78¢

Idaho average11.83¢

Avista11.84¢

Northern Lights12.17¢

Kootenai Electric Cooperative13.44¢

PacifiCorp13.53¢

Source: EIA-861 annual electric power industry report, 2025 final. Utilities with 10,000 or more bundled (full-service) residential customers. Revenue divided by kWh sold, all charges included, EIA-861 2025 final. Darker bars have their own page.

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Utility	¢/kWh
City of Idaho Falls	9.60¢
Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative	11.11¢
Idaho Power	11.78¢
Idaho average	11.83¢
Avista	11.84¢
Northern Lights	12.17¢
Kootenai Electric Cooperative	13.44¢
PacifiCorp	13.53¢

The bill tells a similar story. Avista's Idaho homes averaged $106.63 a month in 2025, against $110.36 for Idaho as a whole, using 900 kWh¹ against the state's 933 kWh⁷.

The same company charges more across the state line. Avista's Washington customers paid 14.16¢ per kWh in 2025 after a rise of 19.3%¹, and 14.68¢ per kWh over the last 12 months against the Idaho side's 12.79¢ per kWh². The two states' commissions set the prices separately; Avista in Washington covers that side.

Outage minutes in 2025

Avista's Idaho customers averaged 973 minutes without power in 2025 when major event days are counted, more than the Idaho average of 322 minutes, with 1.89 interruptions per customer (Idaho: 1.16). Excluding major event days, the total falls to 208 minutes, against 149 minutes⁸ statewide. Most of the year's outage time therefore came on days classed as major events under IEEE 1366, the standard utilities use when they report to EIA.

PacifiCorp (ID)146

Idaho Power (ID)171

Avista (WA)200

Kootenai Electric Cooperative (ID)369

Avista (ID)973

Source: EIA-861 2025, reliability. EIA-861 2025 final. Average revenue per kWh is all charges divided by kWh; it is not a tariff rate.

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Utility	outage minutes per customer (all events)
PacifiCorp (ID)	146
Idaho Power (ID)	171
Avista (WA)	200
Kootenai Electric Cooperative (ID)	369
Avista (ID)	973

Kootenai Electric Cooperative, which shares Kootenai County with Avista, also reported more outage minutes than the Idaho average, while Avista's own Washington system reported 200 minutes⁸. EIA's figures record how long the outages lasted, not what caused them, and one storm season can dominate a single year.

Meters, solar and time-of-use

EIA's 2025 meter survey counted 0.0% of Avista's Idaho residential meters as advanced (AMI) meters, while 99.2% of its Washington meters and 99.8% of Idaho Power's were. Statewide the share was 82.2%. Avista asked the commission in July 2023 to defer the costs of an advanced metering project in Idaho (case AVU-E-23-07). Without interval meters, time-of-day pricing is hard to offer, and Idaho as a whole had 1.2%⁹ of homes on time-varying rates in 2025; Avista's current Idaho rate schedules on file with the commission list what it offers.

Rooftop solar is uncommon on Avista's Idaho lines: 827 net-metered residential installations with 7.4 megawatts of capacity in 2025, or 6.4 per 1,000 customers, against 26.9 statewide and 38.1⁹ nationally. The net metering guide explains how exported power is credited.

Where Avista serves in Idaho

EIA's service-territory records list Avista in 9 Idaho counties: Benewah County, Bonner County, Clearwater County, Idaho County, Kootenai County, Latah County, Lewis County, Nez Perce County and Shoshone County. In all 9¹⁰ of them at least one other utility also reports customers, including cooperatives and small city systems, so a county or town name does not settle which utility serves a home. Avista's service map does, by address. There is no shopping for supply either: 0.0%¹ of Idaho's residential customers bought from a competitive supplier in 2025.

Avista onlyAvista and other utilitiesOther utilities

Source: EIA-861 2025, service territory; Census Bureau, Cartographic boundary file, counties. EIA-861 2025 service territory: 9 counties. Counts whole counties even where the utility serves only part of one; check the utility's own service-area map for an address.

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County	Other utilities reporting service
Benewah County	Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Clearwater Power Company, Inland Power & Light Company, City of Plummer
Bonner County	Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Northern Lights, Inland Power & Light Company
Clearwater County	Clearwater Power Company
Idaho County	Idaho Power, Clearwater Power Company, Idaho County L&P Cooperative Association, Missoula Electric Cooperative
Kootenai County	Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Northern Lights, Inland Power & Light Company
Latah County	Clearwater Power Company
Lewis County	Clearwater Power Company, Idaho County L&P Cooperative Association
Nez Perce County	Clearwater Power Company
Shoshone County	Clearwater Power Company

Avista is Idaho's second-largest utility by residential customers, with 15.2% of the state's total; Idaho Power has 63.4%¹.

Businesses and help paying

Avista's 19,563 commercial customers in Idaho paid an average of 9.60¢ per kWh in 2025, with a bill of $438.54 a month, and its 354 industrial accounts paid 5.14¢ per kWh. Across all 149,098 accounts the average was 9.01¢ per kWh¹.

Households struggling with winter bills can apply for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which pays part of eligible households' heating and electric costs; Idaho's fiscal 2026 allocation was $23.2 million¹². The guide to help paying an electric bill covers how to apply and what to ask a utility about payment plans, and electricity in Idaho has the statewide figures.