Avista said June 12 it has paused processing an energy service request tied to a proposed 500-megawatt data center developer while it seeks broader policy alignment and additional stakeholder input.
The company said the pause comes after community concern over its previously announced memorandum of understanding with the developer. Avista said it is working with government agencies on a more coordinated planning process and will take more time before moving forward.
The request involves a project far larger than the utility’s typical load discussions. Avista said the scale of data center requests and the level of public interest are “unprecedented,” and that these projects now require new planning and coordination across developers, infrastructure partners, regulators and local communities.
Avista said no single party can approve the project. The developer still must secure all required permits, while Avista must review the service request and state regulators must approve any final service agreement.
The utility outlined four conditions it says will guide the review of any large data center request: existing customers will not pay for costs tied to serving a new large customer required engineering studies and system upgrades must be completed before service begins final service agreements must be reviewed and approved by state regulators any large project must produce net benefits for customers
Avista said it has served large-load customers for more than 137 years, but added that the current wave of data center requests is different in scale and requires new considerations.
The company serves 429,000 electric customers and 386,000 natural gas customers across 34,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon. As a result of these announcements, the company's shares have moved 1.0% on the market, and are now trading at a price of $42.43. For the full picture, make sure to review AVISTA CORP's 8-K report.
