Avista has paused negotiations tied to energy service for a proposed 500-megawatt data center, stepping back from a previously announced memorandum of understanding as it seeks broader policy and community alignment.
The company said the pause comes after “recent community interest and concern” and that it needs more time to work with government agencies, regulators and local stakeholders on a coordinated planning process. Avista said no single party can move the project forward on its own: the developer still must secure permits, engineering studies must be completed, and state regulators must review any final service agreement.
The utility emphasized three operating conditions for any large new load: current customers will not be charged for costs tied to serving a new customer, reliability upgrades must be completed before service starts, and any project must deliver net benefits for customers.
Avista said it has served large-load customers for more than 137 years, but noted that the scale of current data center requests is unprecedented and requires new planning considerations. Its utility division serves 429,000 electric customers and 386,000 natural gas customers across a 34,000-square-mile territory in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of Oregon, with a population of 1.5 million. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved 1.0%, and are now trading at a price of $42.43. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.
