Avista Corp. Board Increases Common Stock Dividend

    SPOKANE, Wash., Aug. 13 /EMWNews/ -- 1:05 p.m. PDT: Avista

Corp.'s (NYSE: AVA) board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of

$0.18 per share on the company's common stock, an increase of $0.015 per

share or 9 percent. The common stock dividend is payable Sept. 15, 2008, to

shareholders of record at the close of business on Aug. 28, 2008.



    



    "The dividend increase is indicative of the board's confidence in our

continued progress toward achieving our goals, and it provides a

demonstration of that confidence to our shareholders," said Avista Corp.

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Morris. "As we have

previously stated, we are planning for significant capital investments over

the next few years to continue to provide reliable energy service to our

customers. This will require external financing with both debt securities

and common stock issuances to maintain our equity ratio at an appropriate

level. We believe a solid dividend and its growth toward a dividend payout

ratio more in line with the industry average of 60 percent to 70 percent

are important in continuing to attract investment in our company."

    About Avista Corp.



    Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production,

transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related

businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating division that provides

service to 351,000 electric and 310,000 natural gas customers in three

Western states. Avista's primary, non-regulated subsidiary is Advantage IQ.

Our stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more information

about Avista, please visit http://www.avistacorp.com. Avista Corp. and the

Avista Corp. logo are trademarks of Avista Corporation. All other

trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective

owners.



    This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the

company's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are all

statements other than historical facts. Such statements speak only as of

the date of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks and

uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control, which could

cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations. These

risks and uncertainties include, in addition to those discussed herein, all

of the factors discussed in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for

the year ended Dec. 31, 2007, and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the

quarter ended June 30, 2008.