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Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract] |
Appropriated Retained Earnings [Table Text Block] | The appropriated retained earnings amounts included in retained earnings were as follows as of December 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018
Appropriated retained earnings | $ | 43,151 |  |  | $ | 39,346 |
Schedule of Goodwill [Table Text Block] | The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill are as follows (dollars in thousands):
| AEL&P |  | Other |  | Accumulated Impairment Losses |  | Total
Balance as of January 1, 2019 | $ | 52,426 |  |  | $ | 12,979 |  |  | $ | (7,733 | ) |  | $ | 57,672 |
Goodwill sold during the year | — |  |  | (12,979 | ) |  | 7,733 |  |  | (5,246 | )
Balance as of December 31, 2019 | $ | 52,426 |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | — |  |  | $ | 52,426 |
Goodwill sold during the year relates to the sale of METALfx in April 2019. See Note 25 for further discussion. Accumulated impairment losses were attributable to METALfx, which was a part of the other businesses.
Regulatory Liability For Utility Plant Retirement Costs [Table Text Block] | The Company has recorded the amount of estimated retirement costs collected from customers (that do not represent legal or contractual obligations) and included them as a non-current regulatory liability on the Consolidated Balance Sheets in the following amounts as of December 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018
Regulatory liability for utility plant retirement costs | $ | 312,403 |  |  | $ | 297,379 |
Schedule of Inventory, Current [Table Text Block] | Inventories of materials and supplies, fuel stock and stored natural gas are recorded at average cost for our regulated operations and the lower of cost or market for our non-regulated operations and consisted of the following as of December 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018
Materials and supplies | $ | 47,402 |  |  | $ | 47,403 |
Fuel stock | 4,875 |  |  | 4,869 |
Stored natural gas | 14,306 |  |  | 11,609 |
Total | $ | 66,583 |  |  | $ | 63,881 |
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss [Table Text Block] | The following table presents the activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts during the years ended December 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Allowance as of the beginning of the year | $ | 5,233 |  |  | $ | 5,132 |  |  | $ | 5,026 |
Additions expensed during the year | 460 |  |  | 3,917 |  |  | 5,317 |
Net deductions | (3,274 | ) |  | (3,816 | ) |  | (5,211 | )
Allowance as of the end of the year | $ | 2,419 |  |  | $ | 5,233 |  |  | $ | 5,132 |
Schedule of Other Nonoperating Income (Expense) [Table Text Block] | Other Expense (Income) - net consisted of the following items for the years ended December 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Interest income | $ | (2,587 | ) |  | $ | (2,710 | ) |  | $ | (2,162 | )
Interest on regulatory deferrals | (1,460 | ) |  | (990 | ) |  | (1,288 | )
Equity-related AFUDC | (6,585 | ) |  | (6,554 | ) |  | (6,669 | )
Non-service portion of pension and other postretirement benefit expenses | 8,899 |  |  | 5,156 |  |  | 7,670 |
Net (income) loss on investments | (14,299 | ) |  | 5,369 |  |  | 4,160 |
Other expense (income) | 1,104 |  |  | 1,187 |  |  | (1,104 | )
Total | $ | (14,928 | ) |  | $ | 1,458 |  |  | $ | 607 |
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Activity [Table Text Block] | The following table summarizes the number of grants, vested and unvested shares, earned shares (based on market metrics), and other pertinent information related to the Company's stock compensation awards for the years ended December 31:
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Restricted Shares |  |  |  |  |
Shares granted during the year | 50,061 |  |  | 40,661 |  |  | 57,746 |
Shares vested during the year | (48,228 | ) |  | (53,352 | ) |  | (57,473 | )
Unvested shares at end of year | 93,351 |  |  | 91,998 |  |  | 106,053 |
Unrecognized compensation expense at end of year (in thousands) | $ | 2,054 |  |  | $ | 1,964 |  |  | $ | 1,853 |
TSR Awards |  |  |  |  |
TSR shares granted during the year | 99,214 |  |  | 80,724 |  |  | 114,390 |
TSR shares vested during the year | (106,858 | ) |  | (107,342 | ) |  | (107,649 | )
TSR shares earned based on market metrics | — |  |  | — |  |  | 158,262 |
Unvested TSR shares at end of year | 178,035 |  |  | 187,172 |  |  | 218,507 |
Unrecognized compensation expense (in thousands) | $ | 3,377 |  |  | $ | 3,706 |  |  | $ | 2,849 |
CEPS Awards |  |  |  |  |
CEPS shares granted during the year | 49,609 |  |  | 40,329 |  |  | 57,223 |
CEPS shares vested during the year | (53,454 | ) |  | (53,699 | ) |  | (53,862 | )
CEPS shares earned based on market metrics | 106,908 |  |  | 30,102 |  |  | 41,502 |
Unvested CEPS shares at end of year | 88,990 |  |  | 93,579 |  |  | 108,581 |
Unrecognized compensation expense (in thousands) | $ | 2,401 |  |  | $ | 1,260 |  |  | $ | 1,856 |
Share-based Payment Arrangement, Cost by Plan [Table Text Block] | The Company recorded stock-based compensation expense (included in other operating expenses) and income tax benefits in the Consolidated Statements of Income of the following amounts for the years ended December 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Stock-based compensation expense | $ | 11,353 |  |  | $ | 5,367 |  |  | $ | 7,359 |
Income tax benefits (1) | 2,384 |  |  | 1,127 |  |  | 2,576 |
Excess tax benefits (expenses) on settled share-based employee payments | (612 | ) |  | 990 |  |  | 2,348 |
Effective Rate On Allowance For Funds Used During Construction [Table Text Block] | The effective AFUDC rate was the following for the years ended December 31:
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Avista Utilities |  |  |  |  |
Effective state AFUDC rate | 7.39 | % |  | 7.43 | % |  | 7.29 | %
Alaska Electric Light and Power Company |  |  |  |  |
Effective AFUDC rate | 8.96 | % |  | 9.04 | % |  | 9.48 | %
Public Utility Property, Plant, and Equipment [Table Text Block] | For utility operations, the ratio of depreciation provisions to average depreciable property was as follows for the years ended December 31:
| 2019 |  | 2018 |  | 2017
Avista Utilities |  |  |  |  |
Ratio of depreciation to average depreciable property | 3.28 | % |  | 3.17 | % |  | 3.12 | %
Alaska Electric Light and Power Company |  |  |  |  |
Ratio of depreciation to average depreciable property | 2.48 | % |  | 2.46 | % |  | 2.43 | %
The average service lives for the following broad categories of utility plant in service are (in years):
| Avista Utilities |  | Alaska Electric Light and Power Company
Electric thermal/other production | 35 |  | 40
Hydroelectric production | 81 |  | 44
Electric transmission | 50 |  | 41
Electric distribution | 38 |  | 39
Natural gas distribution property | 45 |  | N/A
Other shorter-lived general plant | 9 |  | 14
Net Utility Property Net utility property consisted of the following as of December 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018
Utility plant in service | $ | 6,462,993 |  |  | $ | 6,209,968 |
Construction work in progress | 164,941 |  |  | 160,598 |
Total | 6,627,934 |  |  | 6,370,566 |
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization | 1,830,927 |  |  | 1,721,636 |
Total net utility property | $ | 4,797,007 |  |  | $ | 4,648,930 |
Gross Property, Plant and Equipment The gross balances of the major classifications of property, plant and equipment are detailed in the following table as of December 31 (dollars in thousands):
| 2019 |  | 2018
Avista Utilities: |  |  |
Electric production | $ | 1,445,017 |  |  | $ | 1,426,961 |
Electric transmission | 802,546 |  |  | 761,156 |
Electric distribution | 1,847,273 |  |  | 1,726,410 |
Electric construction work-in-progress (CWIP) and other | 350,331 |  |  | 341,041 |
Electric total | 4,445,167 |  |  | 4,255,568 |
Natural gas underground storage | 51,017 |  |  | 48,549 |
Natural gas distribution | 1,203,186 |  |  | 1,118,720 |
Natural gas CWIP and other | 81,245 |  |  | 76,488 |
Natural gas total | 1,335,448 |  |  | 1,243,757 |
Common plant (including CWIP) | 681,711 |  |  | 641,465 |
Total Avista Utilities | 6,462,326 |  |  | 6,140,790 |
AEL&P: |  |  |
Electric production | 100,448 |  |  | 99,803 |
Electric transmission | 22,000 |  |  | 21,347 |
Electric distribution | 24,096 |  |  | 22,374 |
Electric production held under long-term capital lease (1) | — |  |  | 71,007 |
Electric CWIP and other | 9,539 |  |  | 7,072 |
Electric total | 156,083 |  |  | 221,603 |
Common plant | 9,525 |  |  | 8,173 |
Total AEL&P | 165,608 |  |  | 229,776 |
Total gross utility property | 6,627,934 |  |  | 6,370,566 |
Other (2) | 28,195 |  |  | 39,145 |
Total | $ | 6,656,129 |  |  | $ | 6,409,711 |
(1) | At December 31, 2018, the finance lease ROU assets were included in "Net utility property" on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Due to the adoption of ASC 842 on January 1, 2019, the Company has reclassified these amounts to "Other property and investments-net and other non-current assets" on the Consolidated Balance Sheet such that their presentation as of December 31, 2019 is consistent with operating leases.
(2) Included in other property and investments-net and other non-current assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Accumulated depreciation was $5.4 million as of December 31, 2019 and $12.4 million as of December 31, 2018 for the other businesses.

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