Avista Corp. has signaled that it intends to issue up to $45 million worth of its common stock this year, but declines to say anything more about the stock issue.

The Spokane utility company disclosed in a recent public filing that it plans to issue the shares this year.

"We are planning to issue up to $45 million of common stock in 2010 in order to maintain our capital structure at an appropriate level for our business," Avista said in a quarterly earnings document it filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said it didn't issue any stock under the agreement in the first quarter.

Asked for comment on the statement, Avista referred the Journal of Business to the earnings document, known as a 10-Q filing, and a description in the filing of a sales agency agreement for the stock issue.

"We can't talk about the specifics of how we might issue the equity," says Avista spokeswoman Jessie Wuerst.

In the 10-Q filing, Avista said, "In December 2009, we entered into an amended and restated sales agency agreement with a sales agent to issue up to 1.25 million shares of our common stock from time to time. We originally entered into a sales agency agreement to issue up to 2 million shares of our common stock in December 2006. In 2008, we issued 750,000 shares of our common stock under this sales agency agreement. We did not issue any common stock under this agreement in 2009."