Always On Program FAQ
Provide value from our smart meters by helping our customers identify the types of equipment that use energy in their home and how best to reduce and save on those loads.
Avista selected electric residential customers in our Washington service territory that had a measurable amount of always on usage to participate. If you were not selected as part of this group, you will not be able to participate.
Each type of appliance in a home uses electricity in a unique manner - think of the usage like an appliance fingerprint. We detect and extract these "fingerprints" to determine how much energy your major appliances are consuming. This algorithm powered by smart meter data disaggregation is commonly called “appliance itemization” and has been proven to be highly accurate.
Bill itemization and use analysis shown are estimates based solely on your home’s unique usage patterns. Avista’s smart meters do not have the ability to identify which appliances and devices are in use, at any given time.
Your monthly email update is calculated at a single point in time at the end of your previous billing cycle and does not account for shifts in usage pattern calculations. The amounts displayed online are the most up to date and accurate and may have refreshed after you’ve completed your Home Profile Survey.
We were unable to get an accurate always on reading from your electric usage. We have multiple checks in place to ensure the usage analysis we present to you is correct. One or more of the following checks occurred when determining whether to present your appliance itemization to you:
- Your energy consumption was too low to get an accurate itemized reading. This occurs when the usage for a given appliance is below what is typical of it.
- Your energy consumption was too high to get an accurate itemized reading. This occurs when the usage for a given appliance exceeded what is typical of it.
- The energy consumption had too many gaps where the readings were 0.
Follow the opt-out link on the bottom of your monthly emails.
Medical equipment, Radon and Smoke Detectors should not be unplugged as part of your always on usage reduction.
For additional information, send us an email or give us a call at (800) 227-9187.