Tell Montana's Public Service Commission to Accelerate our Clean Energy Future!

Montanans support clean, renewable energy and energy storage because it cuts climate pollution, reduces impacts on our lands and wildlife and because it's the cheapest energy on the market. But NorthWestern Energy keeps investing in the most expensive resources: fossil fuels. And now customers are facing a record 28% rate increase for polluting, over-priced energy.

They are building a methane gas plant in Laurel that the community doesn't want, and right now, they're likely the only electric utility in America trying to buy more coal power, the most expensive energy resource. The utility is ratcheting up rates in order to pay for this.

The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) is in charge of protecting customers from these terrible business practices, but despite wide-spread opposition to these recent decisions, the all-Republican commission historically has rubber-stamped NorthWestern Energy's plans. We must shift this paradigm! The historic Held v. Montana ruling says Montana must legally protect our right to a clean and healthful environment, and that includes regulators at the PSC.

Write a public comment to the Public Service Commissioners now and tell them to accelerate our clean energy transition and uphold our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment.

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Protect My Right to A Clean and Healthful Environment.

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Please forward this comment to all five Commissioners. Thank you. Dear Commissioners and Public Service Commission staff, As a Montanan who wants affordable energy and a clean, healthy environment, I'm deeply concerned about the increasing cost of my NorthWestern Energy bill and the company's continued reliance on expensive fossil fuel resources. NorthWestern Energy is likely the only electric utility in the nation seeking to buy more of the most expensive energy resource, coal, even when cheaper and increasingly reliable alternatives like renewables and energy storage are available. NorthWestern Energy recently built the expensive new Laurel methane gas plant, over the objection of local community members, even though cheaper options exist. Instead of proactive planning for an energy future that makes best use of existing storage and renewable technologies, NorthWestern Energy continues to prioritize more expensive and outdated energy sources. The Held v. Montana decision demonstrated that the State of Montana has an obligation to regulate climate pollution. As a state agency charged with serving the public interest, this extends to the Public Service Commission, which approves resource plans and rate changes that impact the state's greenhouse gas emissions and energy prices. We must reduce climate pollution to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change. The good news is cutting emissions can coincide with bringing more distributed renewable energy resources and energy storage technologies to Montana communities, which will increase reliability and flexibility. We can become a major energy exporter and build thousands of renewable energy and energy efficiency jobs to our communities rather than importing expensive out of state energy. I'm formally requesting the Public Service Commission establish rulemaking that complies with Montanans constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment and support the recent Joint Petition for Declaratory Rulings and Rulemaking to Consider Climate Impact.

Image by Sierra Club.