Utility Holding Co. Explores Sale of Energy Broker-Consultant

Avista Corp. announced this week in reporting earnings that it is exploring the sale of its energy broker, consultant, and manager Ecova.

"[W]e are in the process of exploring the possibility of selling our interest in Ecova. We have received offers that we are evaluating. However, there is no assurance that the terms of any proposed transaction will ultimately be acceptable to the company, that the conditions to any proposed transaction will be satisfied or that any proposed transaction will be completed. If no such transaction is completed, we will continue to support Ecova's growth initiatives. The value of any potential sales transaction will depend on market conditions, transaction structure and other factors," Avista said.

Ecova reported net income attributable to Avista for the first quarter of 2014 of $1.1 million, on revenue of $44.4 million.

As of March 31, 2014, Ecova had over 700 expense management customers representing over 720,000 billed sites in North America. In the first quarter of 2014, Ecova managed bills totaling $5.6 billion, an increase of $0.5 billion as compared to the first quarter of 2013, reflecting an increase in the number of billed sites.