Avista Advantage, the Avista Corp. unit that manages utility bills for businesses with multiple sites, cut its losses sharply last year, and also built up its customer base substantially.


The Spokane-based operation slashed its annual net loss to $1.3 million, or 3 cents for each share of Avista Corp. stock, in 2003, down from $4.3 million, or 9 cents a share, in 2002, Avista Corp. says in its 10-K annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.


Meanwhile, Avista Advantage, which employed 288 people as of February and has its offices in the Rockpointe Corporate Center north of downtown, built its client list big time in 2003, Avista Corp. spokesman Hugh Imhof says.


As of Dec. 31, Avista Advantage was serving 292 customers with a total of 109,600 locations throughout North America, up from 247 customers with 98,000 sites at the end of 2002, Avista Corp. says.


Avista Advantage processed $6.4 billion worth of bills last year, up from $4.9 billion in 2002.


The 6-year-old subsidiary never has made money on an annual basis, although Avista Corp. had hoped that the unit might break into the black last year.


Now, Avista Corp. says it expects Avista Advantage will be break-even or generate slightly positive net income for 2004 based on improving revenues and stabilized operating expenses from processing efficiencies. It says Avista Advantage cut its operating expenses by $2.1 million last year, reducing its costs per account by 26 percent.


In addition to processing and paying utility bills, Avista Advantage gleans information from invoices, providers, and other sources to give its customers analysis, real-time reporting, and consulting services on facility-related energy, waste, repair-and-maintenance, and telecommunications costs.


Also in its 10-K report, Avista Corp. says:


It operates about 16,900 miles of primary and secondary electric distribution lines. Thats 4,700 more miles than it had estimated previously. It says its Avista Utilities subsidiary was able last year to determine a more accurate measure of the miles of those lines through a field inventory. The significant increase primarily reflects a more accurate measurement process and not growth in Avista Utilities distribution system, the report says. Avista Utilities also owns an electric transmission system of about 615 miles of 230-kilovolt line and 1,535 miles of 115-kilovolt line and owns an 11 percent interest in 495 miles of a 500-kilovolt line in Montana.


With more than 30 percent of the work force of its Avista Utilities subsidiary nearing retirement eligibility over the next five to 15 years, the company has focused on how it will maintain continuity, including working towards assuring that an effective succession plan is in place. The focus is on organizational leadership capability as well as technically complex jobs that take years to grow into, Avista Corp. says.