Understanding Your Avista Bill
Set up an account on myavista.com and you gain access to helpful tools and features that give you a deeper understanding of your energy use.
See how your numbers have changed over time.
View up to 24 months of your bill history.
You can see all of the following information:
- Account Summary
- Basic Summary
- Usage Detail
- Cost Detail
The more information you have, the better choices you can make about your energy use. Learn how to make sense of every part of your monthly bill.
You can keep your winter bill in check. With a few facts and some heating best practices, you can manage costs when the temperature drops. Here are just a few facts:
- Lower your thermostat just a bit. Setting your thermostat just 3 degrees lower can reduce your bill by about 10 percent.
- Only use space heaters to heat a single occupied room and make sure to turn down the temperature setting on your furnace.
- Restrict the use of your wood fireplace in extremely cold weather. Fireplaces can rob you home of heat provided by your heating system.
- Keep fireplace dampers closed when you’re not using the fireplace.
- Add caulk and weather stripping around windows and doors.
- Open curtains on south-facing windows to let in natural sunlight to warm your home. Keep window coverings closed in rooms that receive no direct sunlight to insulate from cold window drafts.
- Remove sediment and mineral deposits that build up inside your water heater. Just draw a pail or two of water from the drain at the bottom of your water heater once every three months.
- Set the temperature on your hot water tank to 120 degrees. Generally, residential water heaters should not exceed 140 degrees or be below 120 degrees.
Understand your meter so you can understand how you use energy every day. A few tips to get started:
- Read the meter dials from left to right and record the readings in the same order.
- When the hand is between two digits, record the smaller digit.
- If you're not certain whether or not the hand has reached the next digit, check the dial to the right. If the hand is not on, or slightly past the zero, record the lower digit.
- Subtract the last reading from your present reading, times the multiplier, to determine the amount of energy used.
- If your meter has a multiplier, take your readings and multiply by the multiplier to determine actual usage.
- Refer to the last reading on your bill and recheck your read for accuracy.
Keep up to date with Avista news and updates in our inserts.
May 2025
- Natural gas and electric safety guide
- Customer Information Privacy Notice
- Solar questions? We have answers
April 2025
- Connections newsletter
- Sometimes, less is more
- Important notice for Washington electric customers
- Call 811 before you dig
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024
Keep up with Avista news and updates in our inserts.
May 2025
- Natural gas and electric safety guide
- Customer Information Privacy Notice
- Solar questions? We have answers
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
- Connections newsletter
- Do your part for the environment
- Important Notice for Idaho Electric and Natural Gas Customers
January 2025
December 2024
Keep up with Avista news and updates in our inserts.
May 2025
April 2025
March 2025
February 2025
January 2025
December 2024