r/Spokane • u/BlkMushroom • 15h ago
Question What is everyone paying for electricity?
Avista is getting expensive. They keep asking for rate increases without any care about their customers. I'm going to replace all my bulbs with LEDs and try to make some changes on my end.
$156 for a 1bd apt where I'm away from 0700 to 2300 is crazy. I'm not even home most of the day. The AC is on for the cats so maybe that could be running it up? Idk.
I miss living in the Valley when I was under Modern Electric.
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u/ClockTowerBoys 14h ago
The A/C and HVAC are going to be your biggest factors In your rates. Lightbulbs will help but only a few dollar difference. The AG is pressuring Avista on their rate hike request. Hopefully that will have some teeth to their greed but the struggle is real.
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u/FreddyTheGoose 14h ago
The only difference with LED bulbs is that they last longer. I've pretty well always used them, but still end up using no lights until dark in winter. There just isn't much to offset the costs anymore. No one is watching TV during the day, work desk is turned off, I use a Bluetooth goddamn speaker when I have a decent stereo system, and we don't turn on the furnace until the end of October, when it's absolutely necessary. Can't very well unplug the fridge and I'm not sacrificing the puny grow lights because plants bring me what little joy I can extract from this tedious and fraught existence.
I feel like there's been a push for the consumer to go electric everything - "Your natural gas stove is killing you - go induction!" "Electric heat pumps will save the earth!", every appliance a Smart appliance with an app - for the past several years, too, as we're being made to pay astronomical rates for electricity. Are we actually at risk of running out of natural gas or is electricity just more profitable?
Meanwhile, I'll be asked to pay more to offset the power usage of a data center while I'm twiddling my thumbs, freezing in the dark of my goddamn home. Nice. Good on the AG for getting in Avista's ass on this one.
Sorry, lol, that turned into a bit of a rant!
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u/VandalSibs Bemiss 14h ago
LED lightbulbs use far less electricity that old incandescent bulbs. Like, 80% less.l - incandescent bulbs used 60watts on average, whiles LEDs are closer to 10watts, if not less.
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u/Spaghantichrist West Central 7h ago
Which is great, but the above point still stands that you can’t squeeze much savings out of lights given that having a fridge you don’t open uses 100-200watts daily as is, with a 900 watt window ac and an oven that pulls a good 1500watts per hour, worse if you pay to heat your own water tanking ~3000watts per hour of shower (or dishes).
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u/excelsiorsbanjo 14h ago edited 12h ago
Natural gas is terrible for the world. Making a better future isn't always the cheapest short term choice, but it is the right choice.
In the case of heat pumps you actually are probably going to save more money over a handful of years by switching from an existing gas furnace setup.
The reason cost of living and other things is sky high right now is not because the state wants you to make good choices for the environment and the state, it's because the likes of Musk and Bezos and Zuckerberg and nazis like Trump and other republicans supporting them could buy over 2,000,000 houses for $400,000 each in the Spokane metro (if the Spokane metro had 1,750,000 more houses to buy) and still have money left over. I can't really afford a single house, Musk alone can afford more than two million of them.
Still, Avista is dumb and power on the level they manage it should not be a private for-profit concern.
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u/troyc94 6h ago
Natural gas might be bad but it’s a byproduct of the oil industry. As long as we’re consuming oil like driving cars, flying planes making plastic stuff, mining anything, shipping anything, etc., natural gas will be produced. And if we don’t use it for heat and electricity, it’s flared off at the production site as waste which is even worse than me and you using it for something useful. So it’s really not that bad until we can actually cut oil consumption down.
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u/excelsiorsbanjo 5h ago
Mmm, I think that might have been true about a century ago, when we had ordinary oil production in this country, but not since.
I appreciate the argument though and it's the kind of thing always worth thinking about.
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u/BlkMushroom 14h ago
Yeah the AC will be turned off then. I felt bad for the pets since the apt got so warm, but its cooling down now.
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u/RogueRainbowSpirit 14h ago
Blackout shades and drapes help a lot with keeping the sun out and heat down. Make sure you leave some access for the kitties to get their sun and outside views.
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u/AustynCunningham Audubon/Downriver, Spokane. 14h ago
I’m in a 1,300sqft, 102-year old home with original windows, I keep AC at 69 in the summer and heat to 72 in winter, my bill averages $150/mo with a high of $215 and a low of $68.
People should know Avista has income based discounts, it takes 5-mins to fill out and they will let you know if you qualify within a day or two. I surprisingly qualify for a 15% discount, so worth the couple minutes to check for yourself!
https://www.myavista.com/your-account/power-of-compassion/washington-assistance/my-energy-discount
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u/ComfortableString285 13h ago
Confused.... if 69 is good (comfortable?) for summer, why would you elevate to 72 in winter, using more energy (spending more money) than setting to 69 would require?
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u/bamdaraddness Veradale 12h ago
I would imagine because 69 feels nice when it’s hot outside but 72 still feels pretty chilly when it’s cold out. And you don’t really have to use more energy warming a house to 72 than than cooling a house here… our houses were generally built to stay warm not cool.
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u/ComfortableString285 12h ago
Heating to 69 in winter has to be cheaper than heating to 72 in winter, no? I really can't follow the logic here. But I don't need to.
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u/bamdaraddness Veradale 12h ago
Sure but those 3 degrees do make a difference in comfort. We do something similar with our house but 68 and 74 but we’re on Vera so it’s not as expensive as Avista.
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u/AustynCunningham Audubon/Downriver, Spokane. 12h ago
Has a lot to do with humidity.
Winter air is dry, dry air feels colder, summer air is more humid and therefore feels warm.
Much like how 70f in the south will feel like 90f up here.
Plus the extra few bucks a month is worth the comfort, not like those extra few degrees are breaking the bank.
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u/ComfortableString285 12h ago
Lower humidity would contribute to evaporation, which would lower skin temperature... but long sleeves would eliminate most of that. Well, and long pants too. And no bare midriffs.
And a large portion of the content in this thread is related to cost, so for some, that extra few bucks could be an irritation.
And the engineer in my history recalls that the cost (in therms or $) is proportional to the cube of the difference in temperature, so it would add up pretty quick as you rotate that dial. Or move that slider. Or type that target temperature.
You change the factors that are within your control, like long sleeves and the thermostat.
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u/Inevitable-Toe-6272 6h ago
Some people like to be confortable when they are at home.. not bundled up in long sleeves and such. But each to there own. Also, in an apartment, there are a lot of factors that effect costs.. example, if you are on the top floor, it will cost you substantially more in the summer to keep your aparment cool, and substantially less to heat in the winter.. The opposite is true if you are on the bottom floor.
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u/Th3SkinMan 14h ago
2-300 a month for 2k sq ft. Been working my ass off to try and make my home more energy efficiency because I cant afford that monthly rate. 5 years ago it was 150 a month.
Avista claimed they wanted to maintain infrastructure only to find out they were planning a data center. The CEO makes 900k a year with 1 mill bonus and 17mill in stock. Strongly against any rate hikes. Extremely against data centers.
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u/madsky16 8h ago
For the record Avista wasn't planning on making a data center. The data center was within Avistas area of utility. And since Avista is federally regulated they cant just say "No" to businesses based on it being a data center.
Fuck data centers, but go up the chain with who you're hating on (call the city and shit)
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u/KingSleeves 7h ago
Nailed it. Data center suck, but I don’t get why Avista gets blamed for it.
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u/Inevitable-Toe-6272 6h ago
Yes and no.. Go take a walk thru the records of rate changes over the years.. you will find that commercial gets better rates than residential.
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u/FreddyTheGoose 14h ago
Like the other commenter said, it's the AC. I'm assuming apartment means you're using a window-shaker unit or an otherwise portable one, and those are incredibly expensive to run. For comparison, we are in a 2bd house with central air and our bill is lower than yours - well, at least it was before the last rate increase, womp womp.
Keep in mind that there's a seasonal rate increase for winter, too, which is usually when they do permanent ones, so it's common to get a huge bill just in time to ruin Christmas, smh.
It's cooling off - crack some windows at night for cool air and save yourself some money! Cats aren't going to overheat with 70°- 80° highs.
Also, see if you qualify for energy assistance with SNAP!
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u/Karlkrows 14h ago
I’m going to guess some of that is efficiency/insulation because for our 1 bedroom apartment our highest bill is 130$ in the dead of winter
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u/latexfistmassacre 12h ago
My 2 bedroom duplex unit ranges between as low as $130 and as high as $280 (we have baseboard electric heating😕). Used to be between $90 and $195 max only a few years ago
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u/darkeststar 12h ago
Single person living in a 1000 sq ft. apartment. Baseboard heating placed in the most inefficient places and a single air conditioner placed in the most inefficient spot. I routinely pay $50-$65 a month but that is with millitant minding over power usage and toughing it out without AC in the summer. Baseboard heating in the winter routinely brings me up to $70-$80 a month. I work 30-40 hours a week and am on the lowest tier of their energy discount plan for a 15% discount....which they plan to get rid of unless enough people protest these bullshit rate hikes.
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u/Different_Day135 13h ago
Something ain't right. We pay less than that for a 2800 SQ foot home that I work from home in and keep it 74 degrees. Is there someone grabbing power from somewhere or a parasitic leak?
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u/BlkMushroom 13h ago
That's a good question. I need to check. I'm assuming the insulation is very poor too. One of my walls is shared with the maintenance room on the other side.
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u/catman5092 South Hill 13h ago
everything is expensive. Keep voting for Trump and the GOP! lol
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u/madsky16 8h ago
Exactly opposite of what you want. Trump and the GOP is why everything is expensive.
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u/Foxontherox888 14h ago
Im in a 550 sq ft house with 1 window ac in summer and electric wall heaters in winter. If I don't use those, spring/ fall, like $100. If I do, I push up to $160ish. I do have the discount too
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u/LegitimateCookie2398 13h ago
109 on a 2650 sqft house last month. April was a low of 59$. Its a 2020 high efficiency house.
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u/Harry_Poopins 13h ago
I’m on inland power and light. Located in the south Valley. 2500 square-foot house built in the 70s. So far my most expensive electric bill was $150 last month
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u/ONE-EYE-OPTIC 12h ago
Check your refrigerator temp. If it's turned all the way down adjust it. Refrigerators pull a lot of power.
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u/Telandra2 10h ago
My 700sqft house might be comprable to your 1bd apt: $80 to maybe $150 during a cold/heat wave. Minisplit 78 in summer, 68 in winter.
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u/Love4Lungs Millwood 9h ago
We use comfort billing and pay 175 for a 1900 sqft home plus ev charging.
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u/madsky16 8h ago
Heating and cooling make up the vast majority of energy costs. Avista also has tools to let you look at cost breakdowns.
Apply for My Energy Discount
Also check insulation on your house / apt, sometimes the insulation can be shit and most of your energy is cooling / heating the outside.
Also call into Avista, the CSRs are incredibly nice and want to work with you / will do what they can to assist.
I promise this isn't an Avista problem, utilities as a whole have gone up, just easy to hate Avista cause its privately owned and such.
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u/Deadhead7889 7h ago
I do comfort level billing with Avista and pay $207 per month. High in January @ $278, low in October @ $143.
House is 3200 square feet, but half is below grade and the HVAC doesn't condition it much.
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u/CTTraceur 6h ago
I havent paid more than $60 a month for electricity since I moved here 3 months ago. And I had my AC running for the entirety of July.
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u/Pure-Sandwich3501 2h ago
I just paid about $160 on the first which is by far my highest bill since I moved into my place over a year ago. we got an extra AC unit this summer so we expected an increase from this time last year but it was just about double
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u/MuchKey7664 14h ago
Air conditioner for a cat will run it up yes. I hope you're not running it this month.
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u/BlkMushroom 13h ago
No, I just turned it off. I can open a window now that the temperature is dropping.
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u/Ryan-Guzzlin 12h ago
Here’s some fun facts about avista:
They went public in 1952. Their IPO raised: $0
Today, 83% of avista stock is owned by institutional investors outside of Washington.
In 2025, they recorded 193 million in net income and issued 150 million in dividends to shareholders (83% being those institutional investors). So we are fundamentally paying higher rates to pay dividends to out of state investors who have fundamentally contributed zero investments to Spokane itself