by Nick Fitzmaurice, Shannon James, and Ben Catton
Whether it’s deregulation to incentivize data centers, nuclear power, or methane gas plants, the Governor’s newly established energy task force is a disaster for the little guy. In September, Gov. Greg Gianforte established the “Unleashing American-Made Energy Taskforce” to “provide the governor with short- and long-term recommendations and strategies for Montana to increase the supply of affordable and reliable energy options.” The task force has no consumer advocate or representative for the average Montanan who already struggles to pay their utility bills, once again proving that the Governor couldn’t care less about anyone but his big business buddies.
MEIC knows that affordable and reliable energy lies in energy efficiency and Montana’s abundant renewable energy potential. However, the task force is simply a vehicle to mirror the Governor’s commitment to fossil fuels while stymying renewable energy development (remember his veto of SB 188 for Shared Solar?), and his task force is doing his bidding without a care for individuals’ utility bills. MEIC is closely monitoring this Task Force to prevent it from increasing fossil fuel development in Montana at the expense of the climate and regular Montanans.
The Task Force membership consists of two legislators, utility representatives, power plant owners, data center developers, major industrial representatives, and deregulation advocates. Notably missing are representatives of residential and small business utility customers and environmental advocates.
The task force is administered by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and consists of three subcommittees focused on bringing data centers online and providing them with gas and nuclear power, without any representation for those who will have to pay the tab and suffer the consequences. The subcommittees consist of the following: Generation, discussing the “need” for natural gas and nuclear development in Montana; Growing Demand, where data center developers and energy providers discuss building gas and nuclear power plants (at the expense of ratepayers) to sell that power (very cheaply) to data centers; and Transmission & Energy Markets, the only committee that appears to have the potential for positive outcomes for increasing Montana’s transmission capacity.
The Task Force will meet again on January 21 and must produce a report with its recommendations by September 15, 2026. The public can attend these meetings virtually and provide public comment. The meetings are also recorded and posted to DEQ’s website, but beware, they are difficult to listen to if you care about climate change, public health, or affordable electric bills.
This article was published in the December 2025 issue of Down To Earth.
