Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Policy)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2014

Share Repurchase Program Policy [Policy Text Block]

Stock Repurchase Program

On June 13, 2014, Avista Corp.'s Board of Directors approved the repurchase of up to 4 million shares of the Company’s outstanding common stock. Repurchases of common stock commenced on July 7, 2014 and will not continue past December 31, 2014. The Company can also choose to terminate the repurchase program before December 31, 2014. Repurchases are made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. There is no assurance that the goal of repurchasing 4 million shares will be achieved. Through July 31, 2014, the Company has repurchased 292,100 shares at a total cost of $9.4 million and an average cost of $32.28 per share. All repurchased shares revert to the status of authorized but unissued shares.

Dividends [Policy Text Block]

Dividends

The payment of dividends on common stock could be limited by:


•	certain covenants applicable to preferred stock (when outstanding) contained in the Company’s Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended (currently there are no preferred shares outstanding),


•	certain covenants applicable to the Company's outstanding long-term debt and committed line of credit agreements, and


•	the hydroelectric licensing requirements of section 10(d) of the FPA.

Under the covenant applicable to the Company's committed line of credit agreement, which does not permit the ratio of “consolidated total debt” to “consolidated total capitalization” to be greater than 65 percent at any time, the amount of retained earnings available for dividends at June 30, 2014 was limited to approximately $395.7 million.

Appropriated Retained Earnings [Policy Text Block]

Appropriated Retained Earnings

In accordance with the hydroelectric licensing requirements of section 10(d) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), the Company maintains an appropriated retained earnings account for any earnings in excess of the specified rate of return on the Company's investment in the licenses for its various hydroelectric projects. The rate of return on investment is specified in the various hydroelectric licensing agreements for the Clark Fork River and Spokane River. Per section 10(d) of the FPA, the Company must maintain these excess earnings in an appropriated retained earnings account until the termination of the licensing agreements or apply them to reduce the net investment in the licenses of the hydroelectric projects at the discretion of the FERC. The Company typically calculates the earnings in excess of the specified rate of return on an annual basis, usually during the second quarter.

The appropriated retained earnings amounts included in retained earnings were as follows as of June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 (dollars in thousands):



	June 30,		December 31,
	2014		2013
Appropriated retained earnings	$	14,270	$	9,714

Nature Of Business

Nature of Business

Avista Corp. is an energy company engaged in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and distribution of natural gas, as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is an operating division of Avista Corp., comprising the regulated utility operations. Avista Utilities provides electric distribution and transmission, as well as natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Avista Utilities also provides natural gas distribution service in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon. Avista Utilities has generating facilities in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Montana. The Company also supplies electricity to a small number of customers in Montana, most of whom are employees who operate one of the Montana generating facilities.

Avista Capital, Inc. (Avista Capital), a wholly owned subsidiary of Avista Corp., is the parent company of all of the subsidiary companies in the non-utility businesses, except Spokane Energy, LLC (Spokane Energy). During the first half of the year, Avista Capital’s subsidiaries included Ecova, Inc. (Ecova), which was an 80.2 percent owned subsidiary prior to its disposition on June 30, 2014. Ecova was a provider of energy efficiency and other facility information and cost management programs and services for multi-site customers and utilities throughout North America. See Note 5 for information regarding the disposition of Ecova. On July 1, 2014, Avista Corp. completed its acquisition of Alaska Energy and Resources Company (AERC), and as of that date, AERC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avista Corp. See Note 4 for information regarding the acquisition of AERC. Also, see Note 13 for business segment information.

Basis Of Reporting

Basis of Reporting

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses of the Company and its subsidiaries and other majority owned subsidiaries and variable interest entities for which the Company or its subsidiaries are the primary beneficiaries. Ecova's revenues and expenses are included in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income in discontinued operations; however, there are no balance sheet amounts included for Ecova as they were disposed of as of June 30, 2014. Intercompany balances were eliminated in consolidation. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include the Company’s proportionate share of utility plant and related operations resulting from its interests in jointly owned plants.

Taxes Other Than Income Taxes

Taxes other than income taxes include state excise taxes, city occupational and franchise taxes, real and personal property taxes and certain other taxes not based on net income. These taxes are generally based on revenues or the value of property. Utility related taxes collected from customers (primarily state excise taxes and city utility taxes) are recorded as operating revenue and expense and totaled the following amounts for the three and six months ended June 30 (dollars in thousands):



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
	2014		2013		2014		2013
Utility taxes	$	12,469	$	12,238	$	32,207	$	30,144

Other Income - Net

Other Income-Net

Other income-net consisted of the following items for the three and six months ended June 30 (dollars in thousands):



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
	2014		2013		2014		2013
Interest income	$	250	$	238	$	524	$	496
Interest income on regulatory deferrals	51		8		95		21
Equity-related AFUDC	2,203		1,355		4,237		2,746
Net gain/(loss) on investments	185		154		145		(244		)
Other income	366		437		654		932
Total	$	3,055	$	2,192	$	5,655	$	3,951

Materials And Supplies, Fuel Stock And Natural Gas Stored

Materials and Supplies, Fuel Stock and Natural Gas Stored

Inventories of materials and supplies, fuel stock and natural gas stored are recorded at average cost for our regulated operations and the lower of cost or market for our non-regulated operations and consisted of the following as of June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 (dollars in thousands):



	June 30,		December 31,
	2014		2013
Materials and supplies	$	31,016	$	28,747
Fuel stock	4,945		3,170
Natural gas stored	13,476		13,029
Total	$	49,437	$	44,946

Investments And Funds Held For Clients And Client Fund Obligations

Investments and Funds Held for Clients and Client Fund Obligations

In connection with the bill paying services, Ecova collected funds from its clients and remitted the funds to the appropriate utility or other service provider. Some of the funds collected were invested by Ecova and classified as investments and funds held for clients, and a related liability for client fund obligations was recorded. Investments and funds held for clients included cash and cash equivalent investments, money market funds and investment securities classified as available for sale. Ecova did not invest the funds directly for the clients' benefit; therefore, Ecova bore the risk of loss associated with the investments. Due to the disposition of Ecova on June 30, 2014, there are no longer any investments and funds held for clients as of June 30, 2014.

Investments and funds held for clients as of December 31, 2013 are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Amortized Cost (1)		Unrealized Gain (Loss)			Fair Value
Cash and cash equivalents	$	16,147	$	—		$	16,147
Money market funds	11,180		—			11,180
Securities available for sale:
U.S. government agency	63,633		(2,555		)	61,078
Municipal	3,497		21			3,518
Corporate fixed income – financial	3,000		—			3,000
Corporate fixed income – industrial	753		12			765
Certificates of deposit	1,000		—			1,000
Total securities available for sale	71,883		(2,522		)	69,361
Total investments and funds held for clients	$	99,210	$	(2,522	)	$	96,688


(1)	Amortized cost represents the original purchase price of the investments, plus or minus any amortized purchase premiums or accreted purchase discounts.

Investments and funds held for clients were classified as a current asset since these funds were held for the purpose of satisfying the client fund obligations. As of December 31, 2013, approximately 95 percent of the investment portfolio was rated AA-, Aa3 and higher by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. All fixed income securities were rated as investment grade as of December 31, 2013.

Ecova management reviewed its investments continuously for indicators of other-than-temporary impairment. To make this determination, management employed a methodology that considers available quantitative and qualitative evidence in evaluating potential impairment of its investments. If the cost of an investment exceeded its fair value, management evaluated, among other factors, general market conditions, credit quality of instrument issuers, the length of time and extent to which the fair value is less than cost, and whether it had plans to sell the security or it is more-likely-than not that the Company will be required to sell the security before recovery. Management also considered specific adverse conditions related to the financial health of and specific prospects for the issuer as well as other cash flow factors. Once a decline in fair value was determined to be other-than-temporary, an impairment charge was recorded in earnings and a new cost basis in the investment was established. Based on management’s analysis, securities available for sale did not meet the criteria for other-than-temporary impairment as of December 31, 2013.

The following is a summary of the disposition of available-for-sale securities for the three and six months ended June 30 (dollars in thousands):



	Three months ended June 30,					Six months ended June 30,
	2014			2013		2014			2013
Proceeds from sales, maturities and calls	$	3,209		$	8,130	$	14,612		$	15,130
Gross realized gains	—			16		3			18
Gross realized losses (1)	(735		)	—		(735		)	—


(1)	The gross realized losses for both the three and six months ended June 30, 2014 were included in the determination of the gain on the disposal of Ecova and were not the result of selling any individual securities.

Contractual maturities of securities available for sale as of December 31, 2013 are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Due within 1 year	After 1 but within 5 years	After 5 but within 10 years	After 10 years	Total
December 31, 2013	5,382	12,745	48,310	2,924	69,361

Actual maturities may differ due to call or prepayment rights and the effective maturity was 3.0 years as of December 31, 2013.

Goodwill

Goodwill arising from acquisitions represents the excess of the purchase price over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired. The Company evaluates goodwill for impairment using a combination of the discounted cash flow model and a market approach on at least an annual basis or more frequently if impairment indicators arise. The Company completed its annual evaluation of goodwill for potential impairment as of December 31, 2013 for Ecova and as of November 30, 2013 for the other businesses and determined that goodwill was not impaired at that time.

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Ecova			Other		Accumulated Impairment Losses			Total
December 31, 2013	$	71,011		$	12,979	$	(7,733	)	$	76,257
Adjustments	112			—		—			112
Goodwill sold during the year	(71,123		)	—		—			(71,123		)
Balance as of June 30, 2014	$	—		$	12,979	$	(7,733	)	$	5,246

Accumulated impairment losses are attributable to the other businesses. The goodwill sold during the year relates to the Ecova disposition, which occurred on June 30, 2014. See Note 5 for information regarding this sales transaction.

Other Intangibles

Intangible Assets

Amortization expense related to intangible assets was as follows for the three and six months ended June 30 (dollars in thousands):



	Three months ended June 30,				Six months ended June 30,
	2014		2013		2014		2013
Intangible asset amortization	$	3,122	$	3,098	$	5,898	$	5,677

All of the intangible assets were related to Ecova, which was disposed of as of June 30, 2014. As such, there are no intangible assets remaining as of June 30, 2014 and there is no amortization expense expected for the remainder of the year and in future years. The amortization expense disclosed in the table above is included in discontinued operations for all periods presented. See Note 5 for information regarding the Ecova sales transaction.

The gross carrying amount and accumulated amortization of intangible assets as of December 31, 2013 are as follows (dollars in thousands):



	Estimated	December 31,
	Useful Lives	2013
Client relationships	2 - 12 years	$	33,562
Software development costs	3 - 7 years	39,327
Other	1 - 10 years	3,321
Total intangible assets		76,210
Client relationships accumulated amortization		(12,336		)
Software development costs accumulated amortization		(21,861		)
Other accumulated amortization		(2,437		)
Total accumulated amortization		(36,634		)
Total intangible assets - net		$	39,576

Derivative Assets And Liabilities

Derivative Assets and Liabilities

Derivatives are recorded as either assets or liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets measured at estimated fair value. In certain defined conditions, a derivative may be specifically designated as a hedge for a particular exposure. The accounting for a derivative depends on the intended use of such derivative and the resulting designation.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) and the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (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 Energy Recovery Mechanism (ERM) in Washington, the Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) mechanism in Idaho, and periodic general rates cases. Regulatory assets are assessed regularly and are probable for recovery through future rates.

Substantially all forward contracts to purchase or sell power and natural gas are recorded as derivative assets or liabilities at estimated fair value with an offsetting regulatory asset or liability. Contracts that are not considered derivatives are accounted for on the accrual basis until they are settled or realized, unless there is a decline in the fair value of the contract that is determined to be other-than-temporary.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value represents the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Energy commodity derivative assets and liabilities, investments and funds held for clients, deferred compensation assets, as well as derivatives related to interest rate swap agreements and foreign currency exchange contracts, are reported at estimated fair value on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. See Note 10 for the Company’s fair value disclosures.

Regulatory Deferred Charges And Credits

Regulatory Deferred Charges and Credits

The Company prepares its condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with regulatory accounting practices because:


•	rates for regulated services are established by or subject to approval by independent third-party regulators,


•	the regulated rates are designed to recover the cost of providing the regulated services, and


•	in view of demand for the regulated services and the level of competition, it is reasonable to assume that rates can be charged to and collected from customers at levels that will recover costs.

Regulatory accounting practices require that certain costs and/or obligations (such as incurred power and natural gas costs not currently included in rates, but expected to be recovered or refunded in the future) are reflected as deferred charges or credits on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. These costs and/or obligations are not reflected in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income until the period during which matching revenues are recognized. If at some point in the future the Company determines that it no longer meets the criteria for continued application of regulatory accounting practices for all or a portion of its regulated operations, the Company could be:


•	required to write off its regulatory assets, and


•	precluded from the future deferral of costs not recovered through rates at the time such costs are incurred, even if the Company expected to recover such costs in the future.

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests [Policy Text Block]

Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests

At December 31, 2013, certain option holders of Ecova had the right to put their shares back to Ecova at their discretion during an annual put window. Stock options and other outstanding redeemable stock were valued at their maximum redemption amount which is equal to their intrinsic value (fair value less exercise price). Due to the disposition of Ecova, as of June 30, 2014 there are no longer any redeemable noncontrolling interests.

Contingencies

The Company has unresolved regulatory, legal and tax issues which have inherently uncertain outcomes. The Company accrues a loss contingency if it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss or impairment can be reasonably estimated. The Company also discloses losses that do not meet these conditions for accrual, if there is a reasonable possibility that a loss may be incurred.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss [Policy Text Block]

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss

Accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of tax, consisted of the following as of June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 (dollars in thousands):



	June 30,			December 31,
	2014			2013
Unfunded benefit obligation for pensions and other postretirement benefit plans - net of taxes of $(2,159) and $(2,280), respectively	$	(4,010	)	$	(4,233	)
Unrealized loss on securities available for sale - net of taxes of $0 and $(936), respectively (1)	—			(1,586		)
Total accumulated other comprehensive loss	$	(4,010	)	$	(5,819	)


(1)	This entire balance was related to Ecova, which was disposed of as of June 30, 2014.

The following table details the reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive loss by component for the three and six months ended June 30 (dollars in thousands):



	Amounts Reclassified from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss
	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
Details about Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss Components	2014			2013			2014			2013			Affected Line Item in Statement of Income
Realized gains on investment securities	$	—		$	16		$	3		$	18		(a)
Realized losses on investment securities	(735		)	—			(735		)	—			(a)
	(735		)	16			(732		)	18			Total before tax
	273			(6		)	272			(7		)	Tax benefit (expense) (a)
	$	(462	)	$	10		$	(460	)	$	11		Net of tax
Amortization of defined benefit pension items
Amortization of net loss	$	(1,952	)	$	(4,891	)	$	(3,904	)	$	(9,782	)	(b)
Adjustment due to effects of regulation	1,778			4,609			3,560			9,217			(b)
	(174		)	(282		)	(344		)	(565		)	Total before tax
	62			99			121			198			Tax benefit
	$	(112	)	$	(183	)	$	(223	)	$	(367	)	Net of tax


(a)	These amounts were included as part of net income from discontinued operations for all periods presented (see Note 5 for additional details).


(b)	These accumulated other comprehensive loss components are included in the computation of net periodic pension cost (see Note 7 for additional details).