Common Stock

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]

Common Stock

NOTE 19. COMMON STOCK

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,

•the hydroelectric licensing requirements of section 10(d) of the FPA (see Note 1), and

•certain requirements under the OPUC approval of the AERC acquisition in 2014. The OPUC's AERC acquisition order requires Avista Utilities to maintain a capital structure of no less than 35 percent common equity (inclusive of short-term debt). This limitation may be revised upon request by the Company with approval from the OPUC.

The requirements of the OPUC approval of the AERC acquisition are the most restrictive. Under the OPUC restriction, the amount available for dividends at December 31, 2023 was $295.6 million.

See the Consolidated Statements of Equity for dividends declared in the years 2021 through 2023.

The Company has 10 million authorized shares of preferred stock. The Company did not have preferred stock outstanding as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Common Stock Issuances

The Company issued common stock for total net proceeds of $112.3 million in 2023. Most of these issuances came through the Company's sales agency agreements under which the sales agents may offer and sell new shares of common stock from time to time. In 2023, 3.0 million shares were issued under these agreements resulting in total net proceeds of $111.8 million.