Fair Value (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Fair Value Inputs, Liabilities, Quantitative Information [Line Items]

Fair Value Inputs, Liabilities, Quantitative Information [Table Text Block]

	Fair Value (Net) at
	September 30, 2013			Valuation Technique	Unobservable Input	Range
Power exchange agreement	$	(16,044	)	Surrogate facility pricing	O&M charges	$30.18-$53.90/MWh (1)
					Escalation factor	3% - 2014 to 2019
					Transaction volumes	365,619 - 394,255 MWhs
Power option agreement	(761		)	Black-Scholes- Merton	Strike price	$55.53/MWh - 2015
						$69.60/MWh - 2019
					Delivery volumes	157,517 - 287,147 MWhs
					Volatility rates	0.20 (2)
Natural gas exchange agreement	(1,193		)	Internally derived weighted average cost of gas	Forward purchase prices	(3)
					Forward sales prices	$3.64 - $4.19/mmBTU
					Purchase volumes	(3)
					Sales volumes	139,980 - 310,000 mmBTUs

Carrying Value and Estimated Fair Value of Financial Instruments

	September 30, 2013				December 31, 2012
	Carrying Value		Estimated Fair Value		Carrying Value		Estimated Fair Value
Long-term debt (Level 2)	$	951,000	$	1,083,214	$	951,000	$	1,164,639
Long-term debt (Level 3)	392,000		382,426		302,000		320,892
Nonrecourse long-term debt (Level 3)	21,688		22,875		32,803		35,297
Long-term debt to affiliated trusts (Level 3)	51,547		36,861		51,547		43,686

Fair Value of Assets And Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Counterparty and Cash Collateral Netting (1)			Total
September 30, 2013
Assets:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	69,334	$	—	$	(65,611	)	$	3,723
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Power exchange agreement	—		—		67		(67		)	—
Foreign currency derivatives	—		19		—		—			19
Interest rate swaps	—		25,178		—		—			25,178
Investments and funds held for clients:
Money market funds	3,238		—		—		—			3,238
Securities available for sale:
U.S. government agency	—		66,165		—		—			66,165
Municipal	—		3,542		—		—			3,542
Corporate fixed income – financial	—		3,004		—		—			3,004
Corporate fixed income – industrial	—		1,766		—		—			1,766
Certificate of deposits	—		1,000		—		—			1,000
Funds held in trust account of Spokane Energy	1,600		—		—		—			1,600
Deferred compensation assets:
Fixed income securities (2)	1,829		—		—		—			1,829
Equity securities (2)	6,213		—		—		—			6,213
Total	$	12,880	$	170,008	$	67	$	(65,678	)	$	117,277
Liabilities:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	96,464	$	—	$	(76,024	)	$	20,440
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Natural gas exchange agreement	—		—		1,193		—			1,193
Power exchange agreement	—		—		16,111		(67		)	16,044
Power option agreement	—		—		761		—			761
Foreign currency derivatives	—		1		—		—			1
Interest rate swaps	—		471		—		—			471
Total	$	—	$	96,936	$	18,065	$	(76,091	)	$	38,910

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Counterparty and Cash Collateral Netting (1)			Total
December 31, 2012
Assets:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	81,640	$	—	$	(76,408	)	$	5,232
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Power exchange agreement	—		—		385		(385		)	—
Foreign currency derivatives	—		7		—		(7		)	—
Interest rate swaps	—		7,265		—		—			7,265
Investments and funds held for clients:
Money market funds	15,084		—		—		—			15,084
Securities available for sale:
U.S. government agency	—		48,496		—		—			48,496
Municipal	—		848		—		—			848
Corporate fixed income – financial	—		5,026		—		—			5,026
Corporate fixed income – industrial	—		3,936		—		—			3,936
Certificate of deposits	—		1,015		—		—			1,015
Funds held in trust account of Spokane Energy	1,600		—		—		—			1,600
Deferred compensation assets:
Fixed income securities (2)	2,010		—		—		—			2,010
Equity securities (2)	5,955		—		—		—			5,955
Total	$	24,649	$	148,233	$	385	$	(76,800	)	$	96,467
Liabilities:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	119,390	$	—	$	(86,115	)	$	33,275
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Natural gas exchange agreement	—		—		2,379		—			2,379
Power exchange agreement	—		—		19,077		(385		)	18,692
Power option agreement	—		—		1,480		—			1,480
Foreign currency derivatives	—		34		—		(7		)	27
Interest rate swaps	—		1,406		—		—			1,406
Total	$	—	$	120,830	$	22,936	$	(86,507	)	$	57,259

(1) The Company is permitted to net derivative assets and derivative liabilities with the same counterparty when a legally enforceable master netting agreement exists. In addition, the Company nets derivative assets and derivative liabilities against any payables and receivables for cash collateral held or placed with these same counterparties.

(2) These assets are trading securities and are included in other property and investments-net on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Reconciliation for All Assets Measured At Fair Value on a Recurring Basis Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)

	Natural Gas Exchange Agreement			Power Exchange Agreement			Power Option Agreement			Total
Three months ended September 30, 2013:
Balance as of July 1, 2013	$	(1,022	)	$	(22,179	)	$	(596	)	$	(23,797	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	(170		)	6,135			(165		)	5,800
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(1		)	—			—			(1		)
Transfers to/from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of September 30, 2013	$	(1,193	)	$	(16,044	)	$	(761	)	$	(17,998	)

	Natural Gas Exchange Agreement			Power Exchange Agreement			Power Option Agreement			Total
Three months ended September 30, 2012:
Balance as of July 1, 2012	$	(2,727	)	$	(10,438	)	$	(1,756	)	$	(14,921	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	(377		)	(7,438		)	171			(7,644		)
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(1		)	—			—			(1		)
Transfers to/from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of September 30, 2012	$	(3,105	)	$	(17,876	)	$	(1,585	)	$	(22,566	)
Nine months ended September 30, 2013:
Balance as of January 1, 2013	$	(2,379	)	$	(18,692	)	$	(1,480	)	$	(22,551	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	1,637			(113		)	719			2,243
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(451		)	2,761			—			2,310
Transfers to/from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of September 30, 2013	$	(1,193	)	$	(16,044	)	$	(761	)	$	(17,998	)
Nine months ended September 30, 2012:
Balance as of January 1, 2012	$	(1,688	)	$	(9,910	)	$	(1,260	)	$	(12,858	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	(364		)	(12,216		)	(325		)	(12,905		)
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(1,053		)	4,250			—			3,197
Transfers from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of September 30, 2012	$	(3,105	)	$	(17,876	)	$	(1,585	)	$	(22,566	)

(1) The UTC and the IPUC issued accounting orders authorizing Avista Utilities to offset commodity derivative assets or liabilities with a regulatory asset or liability. This accounting treatment is intended to defer the recognition of mark-to-market gains and losses on energy commodity transactions until the period of delivery. The orders provide for Avista Utilities to not recognize the unrealized gain or loss on utility derivative commodity instruments in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. Realized gains or losses are recognized in the period of delivery, subject to approval for recovery through retail rates. Realized gains and losses, subject to regulatory approval, result in adjustments to retail rates through purchased gas cost adjustments, the ERM in Washington, the PCA mechanism in Idaho, and periodic general rates cases.