SPOKANE, Wash., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Avista (NYSE:
AVA) and its project partners are moving ahead with the next phase
of a smart grid demonstration project in Pullman, Wash., thanks to a finalized funding
agreement between Battelle and the Department of Energy.
Avista's project is part of the larger Pacific Northwest
Smart Grid Demonstration Project being led by Battelle.
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The $89 million agreement will
fund approximately 50 percent of the regional effort. These funds
will be added to another $89 million
contributed by the Bonneville Power Administration, 11 utilities
and five technology companies that make up the demonstration
project.
Avista will team up with several regional entities for the
$38 million Pullman project. Participants include the
City of Pullman and cost-share
partners Washington State University,
Itron, Hewlett Packard and Spirae. Avista's portion of the matching
funds will be $14.9 million.
The project involves automation of many parts of the electric
distribution system using advanced metering, enhanced utility
communication and other elements of smart grid technology.
Once the work is completed, customers in Pullman and the nearby town of Albion are expected to experience greater
reliability, shorter outage times and access to their own
energy-use information, allowing them to better manage energy
expenses.
Work is underway and should be completed in 2015. Once finished
the project is expected to help move the region and the nation
closer to establishing a more efficient and effective electricity
infrastructure that is intended to help contain costs, reduce
emissions, incorporate more renewable energy, increase power grid
reliability and provide greater flexibility for consumers.
Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production,
transmission and distribution of energy as well as other
energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating
division that provides electric service to 355,000 customers and
natural gas to 315,000 customers. Our service territory covers
30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern
Oregon, with a population of 1.5
million. Avista's primary, non-regulated subsidiary is
Advantage IQ. Our stock is traded under the ticker symbol
"AVA." For more information about Avista, please visit
www.avistacorp.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding
the company's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are
all statements other than historical facts. Such statements speak
only as of the date of the news release and are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the
company's control, which could cause actual results to differ
materially from the expectations. These risks and uncertainties
include, in addition to those discussed herein, all of the factors
discussed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended Dec. 31, 2009, and the
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2010.
SOURCE Avista Corp.
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