NorthWestern Energy’s 2023 Integrated Resource Plan

Every few years, Montana’s largest monopoly utility, NorthWestern Energy, must produce a blueprint for how to meet customers’ energy needs over the next 20 years. Formerly known as a Resource Procurement Plan, this Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is intended to:

  1. provide transparency for customers who are very likely to have to pay for new power plants, 
  2. guide NorthWestern’s decisions about how it can affordably and reliably provide electricity to its customers, and 
  3. help the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) determine if NorthWestern’s plan to build more power plants will result in affordable and reliable electric power for customers.

NorthWestern’s newest IRP fails to do any of the above. Instead, this IRP would result in an electricity system that is unaffordable, unreliable, and ignores the climate crisis. It seems to be more focused on securing increased revenue for NorthWestern’s shareholders than providing affordable and reliable power for Montanans. 

Update: MEIC has completed an expert report about this IRP, which you may find useful when making your comments. Download the PDF here.

 

Comment now:

 The PSC has re-opened public comment and will accept public comment until Oct. 6 – it is important they hear from you!  Please send comments to pschelp@mt.gov and include “Regarding docket 2022.11.102” in the subject line or use the action below:


The PSC will hold also hearings on the plan in five cities:
  • Great Falls: August 14, 6:00 p.m., Commission Chambers in the Civic Center, located at 2 Park Drive South.
  • Helena: August 15, 12 p.m., Montana Public Service Commission, Bollinger Room, 1701 Prospect Avenue.
  • Billings: August 16, 6:00 p.m., Board of Oil & Gas Conservation, 2535 St. Johns Ave.
  • Butte: August 17, 6:00 p.m., Butte-Silver Bow Public Archives, 17 W. Quartz.
  • Missoula: August 22, 6:00 p.m., Missoula College Learning Center (river campus), 1205 E. Broadway Ave., Room 304.

NorthWestern’s 2023 plan:

  • fails to justify its proposal to build wildly expensive and polluting new fossil fuel and nuclear power plants, 
  • fails to consider ways to reduce the need for power (particularly during times of high demand when energy prices are highest), 
  • fails to consider the impact of proposed regulations that limit toxic air pollutants, coal ash, and greenhouse gases,
  • fails to consider less expensive options to provide energy to customers,
  • fails to consider fairly consider how to replace the Colstrip power plant with a low-cost mix of clean energy options,
  • and fails to account for trillions of dollars in federal funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure and Jobs Act that is intended to accelerate the deployment of cost-effective clean energy (energy efficiency, renewables, transmission, and storage).

Here are links to Volumes 1 and 2 of the 2023 IRP.

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