Montana News
NorthWestern claims reliability and cost justify further investment into coal
With Montana News, I'm Eleanor Smith. The state's largest utility explained to lawmakers this week why it wants to expand ownership of the Colestrip Power Plant. MTPR's Ellis Julin has more. Northwestern Energy plans to own more than half of Colestrip by 2026. John Hines, the company's vice president of supply, told lawmakers that buying more of the coal-fired power plant is a good choice for the company and its customers. - Why did we go forward with it? It's pretty simple. Reliability and affordability. - Hines said owning more of Colestrip will give the utility greater control of its power supply and reduce the need to buy energy at a premium off the open market. - It's becoming more and more clear that reliance upon markets, especially markets that are outside of our service territory, is becoming more and more risky. - Hines addressed the Energy and Telecommunications Interim Committee as part of a presentation on Northwestern's ongoing projects. The Montana Environmental Information Center criticized Hines' statements on affordability during the committee's public comment. Policy Director Anne Hedges says Northwestern's presentation didn't include all of the costs of acquiring more of Colestrip, including the cost of coal and compliance with federal pollution regulations. - We are talking about $2 billion in investment for the Colestrip plant to comply with two federal regulations. - Northwestern Energy is challenging those federal regulations and says acquiring more of the plant for no purchase price is a good deal. Northwestern's decision to expand coal-fired power is unusual compared to other utilities. Ryan Felsky is a utility analyst for the Rocky Mountain Institute, a Colorado-based clean energy think tank. - We see nationally that coal is going to be retired and increasingly retired. Northwestern definitely is different than what the national average is doing. - As Northwestern plans to own more of Colestrip, it's seeking regulators approval to charge customers more. Northwestern says rates need to go up to cover the costs of generating power. In Missoula, I'm Ellis Julin.