Fair Value (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

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

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

	Fair Value (Net) at
	March 31, 2014			Valuation Technique	Unobservable Input	Range
Power exchange agreement	$	(13,624	)	Surrogate facility pricing	O&M charges	$30.18-$53.90/MWh (1)
					Escalation factor	3% - 2014 to 2019
					Transaction volumes	396,984 - 397,116 MWhs
Power option agreement	(428		)	Black-Scholes- Merton	Strike price	$56.53/MWh - 2016
						$69.98/MWh - 2015
					Delivery volumes	128,278 - 286,307 MWhs
					Volatility rates	0.20 (2)
Natural gas exchange agreement	(2,418		)	Internally derived weighted average cost of gas	Forward purchase prices	$3.66 - $4.45/mmBTU
					Forward sales prices	$4.54 - $5.23/mmBTU
					Purchase volumes	280,000 - 310,000 mmBTUs
					Sales volumes	279,990 - 310,000 mmBTUs

Carrying Value and Estimated Fair Value of Financial Instruments

	March 31, 2014				December 31, 2013
	Carrying Value		Estimated Fair Value		Carrying Value		Estimated Fair Value
Long-term debt (Level 2)	$	951,000	$	1,080,124	$	951,000	$	1,054,512
Long-term debt (Level 3)	342,000		345,980		342,000		329,581
Nonrecourse long-term debt (Level 3)	13,872		14,323		17,838		18,636
Long-term debt to affiliated trusts (Level 3)	51,547		37,052		51,547		37,114

Fair Value of Assets And Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Counterparty and Cash Collateral Netting (1)			Total
March 31, 2014
Assets:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	91,090	$	—	$	(73,620	)	$	17,470
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Power exchange agreement	—		—		390		(390		)	—
Foreign currency derivatives	—		47		—		(30		)	17
Interest rate swaps	—		21,260		—		(3,097		)	18,163
Investments and funds held for clients:
Money market funds	23,034		—		—		—			23,034
Securities available for sale:
U.S. government agency	—		54,327		—		—			54,327
Municipal	—		3,109		—		—			3,109
Corporate fixed income – industrial	—		763		—		—			763
Certificate of deposits	—		1,000		—		—			1,000
Funds held in trust account of Spokane Energy	1,600		—		—		—			1,600
Deferred compensation assets:
Fixed income securities (2)	1,906		—		—		—			1,906
Equity securities (2)	6,475		—		—		—			6,475
Total	$	33,015	$	171,596	$	390	$	(77,137	)	$	127,864
Liabilities:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	72,997	$	—	$	(70,908	)	$	2,089
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Natural gas exchange agreement	—		—		2,418		—			2,418
Power exchange agreement	—		—		14,014		(390		)	13,624
Power option agreement	—		—		428		—			428
Foreign currency derivatives	—		30		—		(30		)	—
Interest rate swaps	—		12,003		—		(5,307		)	6,696
Total	$	—	$	85,030	$	16,860	$	(76,635	)	$	25,255

	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Counterparty and Cash Collateral Netting (1)			Total
December 31, 2013
Assets:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	55,243	$	—	$	(51,367	)	$	3,876
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Power exchange agreement	—		—		339		(339		)	—
Foreign currency derivatives	—		7		—		(6		)	1
Interest rate swaps	—		33,543		—		—			33,543
Investments and funds held for clients:
Money market funds	11,180		—		—		—			11,180
Securities available for sale:
U.S. government agency	—		61,078		—		—			61,078
Municipal	—		3,518		—		—			3,518
Corporate fixed income – financial	—		3,000		—		—			3,000
Corporate fixed income – industrial	—		765		—		—			765
Certificate of deposits	—		1,000		—		—			1,000
Funds held in trust account of Spokane Energy	1,600		—		—		—			1,600
Deferred compensation assets:
Fixed income securities (2)	1,960		—		—		—			1,960
Equity securities (2)	6,470		—		—		—			6,470
Total	$	21,210	$	158,154	$	339	$	(51,712	)	$	127,991
Liabilities:
Energy commodity derivatives	$	—	$	72,895	$	—	$	(60,099	)	$	12,796
Level 3 energy commodity derivatives:
Natural gas exchange agreement	—		—		1,219		—			1,219
Power exchange agreement	—		—		14,780		(339		)	14,441
Power option agreement	—		—		775		—			775
Foreign currency derivatives	—		6		—		(6		)	—
Total	$	—	$	72,901	$	16,774	$	(60,444	)	$	29,231

(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 March 31, 2014:
Balance as of January 1, 2014	$	(1,219	)	$	(14,441	)	$	(775	)	$	(16,435	)
Total gains or losses (realized/unrealized):
Included in net income	—			—			—			—
Included in other comprehensive income	—			—			—			—
Included in regulatory assets/liabilities (1)	1,849			2,026			347			4,222
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(3,048		)	(1,209		)	—			(4,257		)
Transfers to/from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of March 31, 2014	$	(2,418	)	$	(13,624	)	$	(428	)	$	(16,470	)
Three months ended March 31, 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)	750			24			280			1,054
Purchases	—			—			—			—
Issuance	—			—			—			—
Settlements	(362		)	2,205			—			1,843
Transfers from other categories	—			—			—			—
Ending balance as of March 31, 2013	$	(1,991	)	$	(16,463	)	$	(1,200	)	$	(19,654	)

(1) The UTC and the IPUC issued accounting orders authorizing Avista Corp. 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 delivery. The orders provide for Avista Corp. 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 delivery, 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.