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Revenue Revenue (Policies) | 3 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2019
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract] |
Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Utility Revenues Revenue from Contracts with Customers General The majority of Avista Corp.’s revenue is from rate-regulated sales of electricity and natural gas to retail customers, which has two performance obligations, (1) having service available for a specified period (typically a month at a time) and (2) the delivery of energy to customers. The total energy price generally has a fixed component (basic charge) related to having service available and a usage-based component, related to the delivery and consumption of energy. The commodity is sold and/or delivered to and consumed by the customer simultaneously, and the provisions of the relevant utility commission authorization determine the charges the Company may bill the customer. Given that all revenue recognition criteria are met upon the delivery of energy to customers, revenue is recognized immediately at that time. Revenues from contracts with customers are presented in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income in the line item "Utility revenues, exclusive of alternative revenue programs." Non-Derivative Wholesale Contracts The Company has certain wholesale contracts which are not accounted for as derivatives and, accordingly, are within the scope of ASC 606 and considered revenue from contracts with customers. Revenue is recognized as energy is delivered to the customer or the service is available for a specified period of time, consistent with the discussion of rate-regulated sales above. Alternative Revenue Programs (Decoupling) ASC 606 retained existing GAAP associated with alternative revenue programs, which specified that alternative revenue programs are contracts between an entity and a regulator of utilities, not a contract between an entity and a customer. GAAP requires that an entity present revenue arising from alternative revenue programs separately from revenues arising from contracts with customers on the face of the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. The Company's decoupling mechanisms (also known as a FCA in Idaho) qualify as alternative revenue programs. Decoupling revenue deferrals are recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income during the period they occur (i.e. during the period of revenue shortfall or excess due to fluctuations in customer usage), subject to certain limitations, and a regulatory asset or liability is established that will be surcharged or rebated to customers in future periods. GAAP requires that for any alternative revenue program, like decoupling, the revenue must be expected to be collected from customers within 24 months of the deferral to qualify for recognition in the current period Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income. Any amounts included in the Company's decoupling program that are not expected to be collected from customers within 24 months are not recorded in the financial statements until the period in which revenue recognition criteria are met. The amounts expected to be collected from customers within 24 months represents an estimate that must be made by the Company on an ongoing basis due to it being based on the volumes of electric and natural gas sold to customers on a go-forward basis. Derivative Revenue Most wholesale electric and natural gas transactions (including both physical and financial transactions), and the sale of fuel are considered derivatives, which are specifically scoped out of ASC 606. As such, these revenues are disclosed separately from revenue from contracts with customers. Revenue is recognized for these items upon the settlement/expiration of the derivative contract. Derivative revenue includes those transactions that are entered into and settled within the same month. Other Utility Revenue Other utility revenue includes rent, revenues from the lineman training school, sales of materials, late fees and other charges that do not represent contracts with customers. Other utility revenue also includes the provision for earnings sharing and the deferral and amortization of refunds to customers associated with the TCJA. This revenue is scoped out of ASC 606, as this revenue does not represent items where a customer is a party that has contracted with the Company to obtain goods or services that are an output of the Company’s ordinary activities in exchange for consideration. As such, these revenues are presented separately from revenue from contracts with customers. Other Considerations for Utility Revenues Gross Versus Net Presentation Revenues and resource costs from Avista Utilities’ settled energy contracts that are “booked out” (not physically delivered) are reported on a net basis as part of derivative revenues. Utility-related taxes collected from customers (primarily state excise taxes and city utility taxes) are taxes that are imposed on Avista Utilities as opposed to being imposed on its customers; therefore, Avista Utilities is the taxpayer and records these transactions on a gross basis in revenue from contracts with customers and operating expense (taxes other than income taxes). The utility-related taxes collected from customers at AEL&P are imposed on the customers rather than AEL&P; therefore, the customers are the taxpayers and AEL&P is acting as their agent. As such, these transactions at AEL&P are presented on a net basis within revenue from contracts with customers. Utility-related taxes that were included in revenue from contracts with customers were as follows for the three months ended March 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018
Utility-related taxes | $ | 19,089 |  |  | $ | 19,167 |
Non-Utility Revenues Revenue from Contracts with Customers Non-utility revenues from contracts with customers are primarily derived from the operations of METALfx. The contracts associated with METALfx have one performance obligation, the delivery of a product, and revenues are recognized when the risk of loss transfers to the customer, which occurs when products are shipped. Significant Judgments and Unsatisfied Performance Obligations The only significant judgments involving revenue recognition are estimates surrounding unbilled revenue and receivables from contracts with customers and estimates surrounding the amount of decoupling revenues that will be collected from customers within 24 months (discussed above). The Company has certain capacity arrangements, where the Company has a contractual obligation to provide either electric or natural gas capacity to its customers for a fixed fee. Most of these arrangements are paid for in arrears by the customers and do not result in deferred revenue and only result in receivables from the customers. The Company does have one capacity agreement where the customer makes payments throughout the year and depending on the timing of the customer payments, it can result in an immaterial amount of deferred revenue or a receivable from the customer. As of March 31, 2019, the Company estimates it had unsatisfied capacity performance obligations of $9.1 million, which will be recognized as revenue in future periods as the capacity is provided to the customers. These performance obligations are not reflected in the financial statements, as the Company has not received payment for these services.
Revenue Recognition for Alternative Revenue Programs, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Alternative Revenue Programs (Decoupling) ASC 606 retained existing GAAP associated with alternative revenue programs, which specified that alternative revenue programs are contracts between an entity and a regulator of utilities, not a contract between an entity and a customer. GAAP requires that an entity present revenue arising from alternative revenue programs separately from revenues arising from contracts with customers on the face of the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. The Company's decoupling mechanisms (also known as a FCA in Idaho) qualify as alternative revenue programs. Decoupling revenue deferrals are recognized in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income during the period they occur (i.e. during the period of revenue shortfall or excess due to fluctuations in customer usage), subject to certain limitations, and a regulatory asset or liability is established that will be surcharged or rebated to customers in future periods. GAAP requires that for any alternative revenue program, like decoupling, the revenue must be expected to be collected from customers within 24 months of the deferral to qualify for recognition in the current period Condensed Consolidated Statement of Income. Any amounts included in the Company's decoupling program that are not expected to be collected from customers within 24 months are not recorded in the financial statements until the period in which revenue recognition criteria are met. The amounts expected to be collected from customers within 24 months represents an estimate that must be made by the Company on an ongoing basis due to it being based on the volumes of electric and natural gas sold to customers on a go-forward basis.
Utility, Revenue and Expense Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block] | Utility-related taxes collected from customers (primarily state excise taxes and city utility taxes) are taxes that are imposed on Avista Utilities as opposed to being imposed on its customers; therefore, Avista Utilities is the taxpayer and records these transactions on a gross basis in revenue from contracts with customers and operating expense (taxes other than income taxes). The utility-related taxes collected from customers at AEL&P are imposed on the customers rather than AEL&P; therefore, the customers are the taxpayers and AEL&P is acting as their agent. As such, these transactions at AEL&P are presented on a net basis within revenue from contracts with customers. Utility-related taxes that were included in revenue from contracts with customers were as follows for the three months ended March 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018
Utility-related taxes | $ | 19,089 |  |  | $ | 19,167 |

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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for revenue recognition related to alternative revenue programs. The major alternative revenue programs can generally be segregated into two categories, programs that adjust billings for the effects of weather abnormalities or broad external factors or to compensate the utility for demand-side management initiatives (for example, no-growth plans and similar conservation efforts); and programs that provide for additional billings (incentive awards) if the utility achieves certain objectives, such as reducing costs, reaching specified milestones, or demonstratively improving customer service. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 980 -SubTopic 605 -Section 25 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68066577&loc=d3e50159-110409 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18780-107790 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 980 -SubTopic 605 -Section 25 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68066577&loc=d3e50174-110409 Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 980 -SubTopic 605 -Section 25 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68066577&loc=d3e50187-110409 Reference 5: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 980 -SubTopic 605 -Section 25 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68066577&loc=d3e50180-110409 + Details
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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policy for revenue recognition. If the entity has different policies for different types of revenue transactions, the policy for each material type of transaction is generally disclosed. If a sales transaction has multiple element arrangements (for example, delivery of multiple products, services or the rights to use assets) the disclosure may indicate the accounting policy for each unit of accounting as well as how units of accounting are determined and valued. The disclosure may encompass important judgment as to appropriateness of principles related to recognition of revenue. The disclosure also may indicate the entity's treatment of any unearned or deferred revenue that arises from the transaction. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/otherTransitionRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18780-107790 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/otherTransitionRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18726-107790 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/otherTransitionRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18823-107790 + Details
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- Definition Disclosure of accounting policies and anticipated effects of regulatory rulings and on rate-setting regarding revenues and expenses incurred and recovered, including billed and unbilled revenues, revenues collected subject to refund, taxes collected from customers and remitted to governmental authorities, and postretirement benefits. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 980 -SubTopic 10 -Section 05 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=79984601&loc=d3e40187-110364 Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 235 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=84158767&loc=d3e18780-107790 + Details
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