Coming off better-than-expected earnings in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, Avista Corp. executives indicated Wednesday they are undeterred by current electrification trends, reaffirming that the utility arm remains all-in for natural gas.

CEO Dennis Vermillion said he thinks the climate change mitigation push to minimize greenhouse gas emissions needs a “holistic approach” that would take into consideration reliability of the regional natural gas and electric energy systems, as well as the cost impacts on customers.

That said, executives of the Spokane, WA-based company are keeping an eye on a bill that languished this session in the Washington legislature, House Bill (HB) 1084. The bill does not consider the impacts, Vermillion told analysts during a year-end and 4Q2020...