3 Things YOU can do this week to help the environment
MEIC will try to regularly give you things you can do each week to help the environment. Please feel free to share this information with anyone on your list. Together, we can make a difference!
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1. Tell NorthWestern: no ratepayer money for
Colstrip purchase lobbying
In its January monthly bill mailing, NorthWestern Energy sent ratepayers a full-color, four-paneled, paper pamphlet designed to promote its attempt to purchase more dirty electricity from Colstrip Unit 4.
The misleading pamphlet – which fails to mention a single risk of the purchase (for example, the millions in annual costs that would be forced onto ratepayers) – is an audacious abuse of power and breach of trust by the utility. Monthly bills are meant to deliver necessary information, not act as vehicles for corporate greed and anti-consumer propaganda.
Make no mistake, NorthWestern’s Colstrip purchase attempt is about keeping a dirty old coal plant running in order to financially benefit the company. It is not about doing what’s best for ratepayers.
While it’s unclear whether ratepayer money was used to pay for this mailing (which could have gone to almost 370,000 customers in Montana), what is clear is that ratepayer money shouldn’t be used to lobby for this boondoggle coal plant purchase.
If you’re a NorthWestern customer, call the company’s customer hotline at 1-888-467-2669 and tell it not to spend a single dollar of your money lobbying to prop up this dirty, expensive coal plant purchase.
2. Let Montana Consumer Counsel know ratepayer money shouldn’t fund NorthWestern’s corporate spin machine
The Montana Consumer Counsel is a state government office charged with representing consumer interests in cases before the Public Service Commission. It has a powerful voice at the Commission, the legislature, and beyond.
And it’s representing you right now.
If you’re a NorthWestern customer, contact the Montana Consumer Counsel and let them know you don’t want your ratepayer dollars funding NorthWestern’s corporate spin machine (see #1 above).
Use this form to contact the office: https://leg.mt.gov/occ/occ-staff
3. Become an MEIC “Snowberry Society” member!
MEIC strives to make our organization as impactful as possible; that’s why the Snowberry Society exists.
Our monthly giving program is the most efficient, powerful way for you to maintain your membership. Here’s why…
- Breaking up an annual gift into smaller monthly donations can make a larger membership contribution more affordable.
- With automatic monthly payments, your membership is current until you say “stop.”
- You won’t receive renewal requests, which saves MEIC paper and staff time!
Less hassle. More impact. Everyone wins!
You can sign up here: https://meic.org/donation-form by picking “Monthly” in the donation schedule drop down menu.
