What Happened?
On November 8, 2023, we faced the largest natural gas outage in Avista’s history. A third party accidentally damaged a natural gas transmission pipeline near Pullman, causing a significant loss of pressure in our system and resulting in outages for over 36,000 customers in the Palouse and Lewiston/Clarkston Valley regions.
How We Responded
In the face of this unprecedented challenge, our company, partners, and communities came together like never before. Over 800 Avista employees, more than 300 mutual aid workers from eight utilities across eight states, and over 60 HVAC contract employees worked tirelessly to bring service back to our customers in less than a week. It was a true team effort!
Our Gratitude
We are deeply grateful for the patience and support shown by our customers and communities throughout this event. The natural gas pipelines supporting our service territory are part of an intricate system of infrastructure supported by dedicated personnel. This network delivers gas to nearly 400,000 Avista customers across eastern Washington, northern Idaho, and southern and eastern Oregon.
Thank you for your continued trust and support.
Curious about our pipeline system, how natural gas is delivered to our customers, and the restoration process during an outage? We invite you to watch this educational video.
Watch video