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Net Metering Program
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Avista net metering in Washington

Eastern Washington, including Spokane and the Palouse. Also serves northern Idaho, under different rules on the other side of the line.

Type
Investor owned
Accounts
270K

What they credit you

One for one in kWh, granted to Avista on 31 March

Published terms

Schedule 63 bills a month of net use at your standard retail rate. When the system makes more than Avista supplies, you pay the basic charge and the excess kilowatt hours are credited on the following bills.

Month to month
Excess kilowatt hours reduce the bills for following periods.
Once a year
On 31 March each year, any remaining unused kilowatt hour credits accumulated during the previous year are granted to Avista without compensation.

Published terms · checked 2026-10-07 · source

Installers serving Avista customers

Pick one. Only the company you choose receives your details, and only that company calls you.

Not sure which to choose?

These are real companies operating in Avista territory. Bold Energy is listed first because it is the company we introduce first. That order is our choice, not a score. The other companies are ordered by reviews, years trading and BBB grade. None of them pays us for placement. Pick the one you want and we will call you to arrange it.

Ordering combines three things we read from primary sources: Google review count and rating, years trading taken from the company’s Better Business Bureau profile rather than its own marketing, and its BBB letter grade. BBB accreditation is shown but never scored, because it is a paid membership rather than a mark of quality.

Check any contractor license yourself at the state register. Do that before you sign anything, with any company, including ours.

What this looks like on a Avista bill

An average Washington household, against a system sized to cover its year. The energy charge is the part that goes to zero. The fixed monthly charge underneath it is the part that never does, and it is the number that decides whether a system pays for itself.

Meter readingkWh
Energy charge$142.39
$142.39
We have read this provider’s own tariff. What it still bills you at zero is set out below, with the sheet it came from. The energy line above uses the statewide average. See what they still bill
DirectionReading…

Meter reading falling from 41926 to 41660 kilowatt hours. A 955 kilowatt hour month against 1,221 kilowatt hours produced leaves 0 kilowatt hours billed and 266 banked for next month, so the energy charge falls from $142.39 to $0.00 at 14.91 cents per kilowatt hour.

Washington average household use, 955 kWh a month, at the current published residential price of 14.91¢ per kWh. Your utility still bills a fixed monthly customer charge that no system offsets, so this is the energy part of the bill, which is the part that goes away.

What your installer should be telling you

Net metering is first come, first served until the earlier of 30 June 2029 or the date net metered capacity reaches 4% of Avista’s 1996 peak demand. A production meter is installed alongside the two-way meter, and once you choose net metering you may not revert to your previous metering without Avista’s written agreement.

What Avista bills you anyway

In a month when your production covers everything you use, the energy charge can reach zero. This does not. It is the floor under every bill, and it is the number that decides whether a system pays for itself.

The charge
$10.00 a month, which is also the minimum
How it is set
Schedule 1 sets a $10.00 Basic Charge and a Minimum Charge of the same $10.00 (Twentieth Revision Sheet 1, effective 1 January 2026). Avista’s own bill calculator for 1 October 2026 shows the riders folded into the energy price rather than the fixed charge: 12.745 cents a kilowatt hour for the first 800, 14.550 cents for the next 700 and 16.772 cents above 1,500. A city franchise fee is then added to the whole bill, 6% in most towns and 6.38% in Spokane. Schedule 63 nets one for one and keeps the Basic Charge on every bill. Excess generation is banked in kilowatt hours, and “On March 31st of each calendar year, any remaining unused credits for kilowatt-hours accumulated during the previous year shall be granted to the Company, without any compensation to the Customer Generator.”

Avista Utilities, WN U-28: Schedule 1, Residential Service, Twentieth Revision Sheet 1, effective 1 January 2026; Schedule 63, Net Metering, Substitute Fourth Revision Sheet 63; How to Calculate Residential Electric Bills (Washington), effective 1 October 2026 · checked 2026-10-01 · source

Applying to Avista

What Avista itself requires, as distinct from what the state rule requires. Read from its own published guidelines on the date shown.

One for one, in kilowatt hours
Under RCW 80.60.030(3), when the system sends more than the house takes in a billing period, you pay the customer charges and the excess kilowatt hours are credited on the next bill, to offset what you use later.
On 31 March the leftover is granted to the utility
RCW 80.60.030(5): any remaining unused kilowatt hour credits accumulated during the previous year "shall be granted to the electric utility, without any compensation to the customer-generator".
Net metering has an end date
RCW 80.60.020(1)(a) requires a utility to offer net metering only until the earlier of 30 June 2029 or the date net metered capacity reaches 4% of its 1996 peak demand. After that, each utility may adopt its own tariff for new customers.
100 kW, and one extra meter
A net metering system may be up to 100 kW AC. On request, credits can be shared with one additional meter on the same or a contiguous parcel, billed to the same customer.
The rule reaches public utility districts too
Chapter 80.60 RCW applies to the public utility districts and city light departments as well as the investor owned utilities.

From Avista’s published guidelines · checked 2026-10-07 · source

Avista net metering questions

Does Avista offer one for one net metering?
Yes. Schedule 63 bills a month of net use at your standard retail rate. When the system makes more than Avista supplies, you pay the basic charge and the excess kilowatt hours are credited on the following bills. Excess kilowatt hours reduce the bills for following periods.
What does Avista pay for power sent back to the grid?
One for one in kWh, granted to Avista on 31 March. On 31 March each year, any remaining unused kilowatt hour credits accumulated during the previous year are granted to Avista without compensation.
Do I need a battery with Avista?
Not for the economics. Avista credits exports at the retail rate, so power you send out during the day comes back at the same value after dark without storage. A battery is still worth considering for outages during hurricane season, but it is an upgrade here rather than a requirement.
How do I find my Avista bill?
Sign in at myavista.com. Open My Account, then Billing. Open the latest bill and save the PDF. Or screenshot the summary page. If you cannot get to it, a rough guess at your average monthly amount is enough to start.
What is the catch with Avista?
Net metering is first come, first served until the earlier of 30 June 2029 or the date net metered capacity reaches 4% of Avista’s 1996 peak demand. A production meter is installed alongside the two-way meter, and once you choose net metering you may not revert to your previous metering without Avista’s written agreement.