Fair Value (Tables)

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2013

Fair Value Inputs, Liabilities, Quantitative Information [Line Items]

Fair Value Inputs, Liabilities, Quantitative Information [Table Text Block]

	Fair Value (Net) at			Valuation	Unobservable
	June 30, 2013			Technique	Input	Range
Power exchange agreement	$	(22,179	)	Surrogate facility pricing	O&M charges	$30.49-$53.82/MWh (1)
					Escalation factor	5% - 2013 to 2015
						3% - 2016 to 2019
					Transaction volumes	365,619 - 379,156 MWhs
Power option agreement	(596		)	Black-Scholes- Merton	Strike price	$50.92/MWh - 2014
						$76.54/MWh - 2019
					Delivery volumes	128,491 - 287,147 MWhs
					Volatility rates	0.20 (2)
Natural gas exchange agreement	(1,022		)	Internally derived weighted average cost of gas	Forward purchase prices	(3)
					Forward sales prices	$3.55 - $4.08/mmBTU
					Purchase volumes	(3)
					Sales volumes	139,980 - 310,000 mmBTUs

Carrying Value and Estimated Fair Value of Financial Instruments

	June 30, 2013				December 31, 2012
	Carrying Value		Estimated Fair Value		Carrying Value		Estimated Fair Value
Long-term debt (Level 2)	$	951,000	$	1,092,485	$	951,000	$	1,164,639
Long-term debt (Level 3)	302,000		293,341		302,000		320,892
Nonrecourse long-term debt (Level 3)	25,474		27,058		32,803		35,297
Long-term debt to affiliated trusts (Level 3)	51,547		36,923		51,547		43,686

Fair Value of Assets And Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Counterparty and Cash Collateral Netting (1)			Total
June 30, 2013
Assets:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	63,949	$	—	$	(61,564	)	$	2,385
Foreign currency derivatives	—		1		—		(1		)	—
Interest rate swaps	—		21,120		—		—			21,120
Investments and funds held for clients:
Securities available for sale:
U.S. government agency	—		64,612		—		—			64,612
Municipal	—		3,565		—		—			3,565
Corporate fixed income – financial	—		3,005		—		—			3,005
Corporate fixed income – industrial	—		1,775		—		—			1,775
Certificate of deposits	—		1,012		—		—			1,012
Funds held in trust account of Spokane Energy	1,600		—		—		—			1,600
Deferred compensation assets:
Fixed income securities (2)	2,037		—		—		—			2,037
Equity securities (2)	6,463		—		—		—			6,463
Total	$	10,100	$	159,039	$	—	$	(61,565	)	$	107,574
Liabilities:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	99,612	$	—	$	(75,794	)	$	23,818
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Natural gas exchange agreement	—		—		1,022		—			1,022
Power exchange agreement	—		—		22,179		—			22,179
Power option agreement	—		—		596		—			596
Foreign currency derivatives	—		135		—		(1		)	134
Total	$	—	$	99,747	$	23,797	$	(75,795	)	$	47,749

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Counterparty and Cash Collateral Netting (1)			Total
December 31, 2012
Assets:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	81,640	$	—	$	(76,408	)	$	5,232
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Power exchange agreement	—		—		385		(385		)	—
Foreign currency derivatives	—		7		—		(7		)	—
Interest rate swaps	—		7,265		—		—			7,265
Investments and funds held for clients:
Money market funds	15,084		—		—		—			15,084
Securities available for sale:
U.S. government agency	—		48,496		—		—			48,496
Municipal	—		848		—		—			848
Corporate fixed income – financial	—		5,026		—		—			5,026
Corporate fixed income – industrial	—		3,936		—		—			3,936
Certificate of deposits	—		1,015		—		—			1,015
Funds held in trust account of Spokane Energy	1,600		—		—		—			1,600
Deferred compensation assets:
Fixed income securities (2)	2,010		—		—		—			2,010
Equity securities (2)	5,955		—		—		—			5,955
Total	$	24,649	$	148,233	$	385	$	(76,800	)	$	96,467
Liabilities:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	119,390	$	—	$	(86,115	)	$	33,275
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Natural gas exchange agreement	—		—		2,379		—			2,379
Power exchange agreement	—		—		19,077		(385		)	18,692
Power option agreement	—		—		1,480		—			1,480
Foreign currency derivatives	—		34		—		(7		)	27
Interest rate swaps	—		1,406		—		—			1,406
Total	$	—	$	120,830	$	22,936	$	(86,507	)	$	57,259

(1) The Company is permitted to net derivative assets and derivative liabilities with the same counterparty when a legally enforceable master netting agreement exists. In addition, the Company nets derivative assets and derivative liabilities against any payables and receivables for cash collateral held or placed with these same counterparties.

(2) These assets are trading securities and are included in other property and investments-net on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Reconciliation for All Assets Measured At Fair Value on a Recurring Basis Using Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)

	Natural Gas Exchange Agreement			Power Exchange Agreement			Power Option Agreement			Total
Three months ended June 30, 2013:
Balance as of April 1, 2013	$	(1,991	)	$	(16,463	)	$	(1,200	)	$	(19,654	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	1,057			(6,272		)	604			(4,611		)
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(88		)	556			—			468
Transfers to/from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of June 30, 2013	$	(1,022	)	$	(22,179	)	$	(596	)	$	(23,797	)

	Natural Gas Exchange Agreement			Power Exchange Agreement			Power Option Agreement			Total
Three months ended June 30, 2012:
Balance as of April 1, 2012	$	(2,354	)	$	(18,572	)	$	(987	)	$	(21,913	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	(162		)	6,909			(769		)	5,978
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(211		)	1,225			—			1,014
Transfers to/from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of June 30, 2012	$	(2,727	)	$	(10,438	)	$	(1,756	)	$	(14,921	)
Six months ended June 30, 2013:
Balance as of January 1, 2013	$	(2,379	)	$	(18,692	)	$	(1,480	)	$	(22,551	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	1,807			(6,248		)	884			(3,557		)
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(450		)	2,761			—			2,311
Transfers to/from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of June 30, 2013	$	(1,022	)	$	(22,179	)	$	(596	)	$	(23,797	)
Six months ended June 30, 2012:
Balance as of January 1, 2012	$	(1,688	)	$	(9,910	)	$	(1,260	)	$	(12,858	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	13			(4,778		)	(496		)	(5,261		)
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(1,052		)	4,250			—			3,198
Transfers from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of June 30, 2012	$	(2,727	)	$	(10,438	)	$	(1,756	)	$	(14,921	)

(1) The UTC and the IPUC issued accounting orders authorizing Avista Utilities to offset commodity derivative assets or liabilities with a regulatory asset or liability. This accounting treatment is intended to defer the recognition of mark-to-market gains and losses on energy commodity transactions until the period of settlement. The orders provide for Avista Utilities to not recognize the unrealized gain or loss on utility derivative commodity instruments in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. Realized gains or losses are recognized in the period of settlement, subject to approval for recovery through retail rates. Realized gains and losses, subject to regulatory approval, result in adjustments to retail rates through purchased gas cost adjustments, the ERM in Washington, the PCA mechanism in Idaho, and periodic general rates cases.