Avista Utilities filed and received approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission to modify its energy efficiency incentive structure in 2011. Under the new rules, Avista will no longer pay customer incentives for lighting projects with more than an eight year simple payback or more than 13 year simple payback for non-lighting measures (e.g. HVAC, windows, insulation, etc.). According to the utility’s web site, this change will help their customers prioritize their energy efficiency investments. For more information, visit www.avistautilities.com. It is unclear how this rule relates to the state’s I-937 requirement that “all cost effective energy efficiency” be acquired – if in fact some cost effective measures have paybacks longer than the new threshold levels.