Montana News
Colstrip power plant offline during heat wave
With Montana News, I'm Elinor Smith. A large source of energy generation for Montana's biggest utility has gone offline while much of the state experience is extreme heat. MTPR's Ellis Julin reports. The coal-fired power plant in coal strip went offline on Tuesday afternoon. Northwestern Energy spokesperson Jody Black confirmed the shutdown but did not give details on the cause. Black told MTPR Northwestern hopes to have the facility up and running in the next few days. This loss of Montana-based energy means the utility company will have to purchase energy on the open market to meet demands. Energy is in high demand across the country as homes and businesses try to keep cool during the ongoing heatwave. Black told MTPR it is likely that the company will have to pay high prices to buy power from out of state. Those higher energy costs will be passed on to rate payers. This is not the first time this year, the utility has had to source energy out of state during extreme weather. Coal strip unit four was down for scheduled maintenance during Montana's record low temperatures in January. In Missoula, I'm Ellis Julin.