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gailwaldby.bsky.social
#MTPol #MTPSC
cranberryhorn.bsky.social Marjie Tennyson @cranberryhorn.bsky.social · Mar 30
In Texas regular homeowners paid around 14.5 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2023, while crypto miners paid as little as 2.5 cents. Two new secret contracts with Northwestern Energy in Montana may also push costs to homeowners over businesses.
cranberryhorn.bsky.social Marjie Tennyson @cranberryhorn.bsky.social · Mar 30
Cryptocurrency mining operations getting deep electricity discounts while regular customers pay more. A new report from Earthjustice attorneys reveals just how stark this contrast is across America.

www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
March 30, 2025 at 10:50 PM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
Montanans:
Oppose Northwestern Energy's proposed rate increase.

The Montana Public Service Commission (PSC), the agency which regulated monopoly utilities, will hold a hearing starting April 22 to decide whether to approve NorthWestern's proposal to hike electricity rates by 26%.

#MTPol #MTPSC
April 15, 2025 at 6:42 PM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
Montanans:
Message from Karin Kirk, science writer and Gallatin County energy expert re MT PSC hearing on Northwestern Energy rate hikes.
#MTPol #Montana #MTPSC
June 11, 2025 at 4:55 PM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
#MTPol #Montana #MTPSC #DataCenters
blueriverrrr.bsky.social Blue_Riverrrr @blueriverrrr.bsky.social · May 13
Montana is facing a power merger with data center accommodation as one of the main drivers
bsky.app/profile/blue...
blueriverrrr.bsky.social Blue_Riverrrr @blueriverrrr.bsky.social · May 13
NorthWestern Energy and Black Hills Corp urge $15.4 billion power merger , while consumers cite cost, reliability concerns 

The deal could mean as much as $16 million for CEO Brian Bird, and a total of nearly $30 million for the top five executives of NWE
dailymontanan.com/2026/05/12/b...
May 15, 2026 at 9:04 PM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
Montanans: Please comment on the planned Black Hills Energy and Northwestern Energy merger.

#MTPol #AI #DataCenters #NWE #MTPSC
monicatranel.substack.com/p/hollywood-...
August 17, 2026 at 1:54 PM
tidelc.bsky.social
Defend Veterans Demonstration #mtpsc June 6 Patriots Point 6:45 pm
June 6, 2025 at 10:48 PM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
Montanans: Tell the Public Service Commission: we need transparency about NorthWestern’s data center plans. Starting Tuesday (05/12), the PSC will hold a multi-day hearing on NorthWestern Energy’s plans to merge with Black Hills Corporation into a seven-state mega-monopoly. #MTPol #Montana #MTPSC
May 10, 2026 at 3:11 PM
wjhamilton29464.bsky.social
#MtPSC is reviewing its comprehensive plan. We wrote a memo for planning about what could be done to advance progress regarding public transit East of the Cooper. docs.google.com/document/d/1...
#MTPSC - Together We Go Forward Transit, 2025 to 2030
Transit #MTPSC - Together We Go Forward, 2025 to 2030 To Mount Pleasant Planning From William J. Hamilton, III, Hungryneck Straphangers, Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit Dated June 16, 2025 ...
docs.google.com
June 17, 2025 at 6:29 PM
wjhamilton29464.bsky.social
Candidates for #MTPSC Town council have been riding #transit as part of their campaigns. 4 of 10 candidates in the March 25 election have participated in a guided ride on the bus with Best Friends of Lowcountry Transit. mailchi.mp/5733a386e1c2...
February 26, 2025 at 1:57 AM
problembear.bsky.social
Republican MTPSC caught giving away free energy to Data Centers. Consumers in Montana see big raise in our bills.

dailymontanan.com/2025/11/18/c...
Complaint calls for investigation of NorthWestern Energy's conduct with data centers • Daily Montanan
NorthWestern's plan to supply electricity to data centers before Public Service Commission finds it won't hurt other customers is illegal.
dailymontanan.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:37 PM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
Montanans:

NorthWestern Energy CEO Brian Bird has said to investors that he wants the company to merge with Black Hills Energy partly so they can “capture data center opportunities.”

#MTPol #Montana #NWE #MTPSC
2026 Action Center & Bill Tracker - Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC
The 2025 Session has been adjourned as of April 30 at 2:15 pm. The Governor has ten days to sign or veto bills. MEIC will update this tracker and add legislative scorecards as soon as possible. Easily...
meic.org
May 11, 2026 at 9:28 PM
problembear.bsky.social
Montana utility ratepayers are paying more for power because NW Energy makes lousy decisions. Why? Because MTPSC is controlled by Republicans. And as we all know, Republicans make everything worse for everyone except Billionaires…..

montanafreepress.org/2025/11/20/m...
Montana utility board reaches tentative decision on NorthWestern's pitch to incorporate $288 million gas plant into customers' rates
The decision was part of a larger rate case the PSC has been considering for over a year.
montanafreepress.org
November 21, 2025 at 7:04 PM
tidelc.bsky.social
Lowcountry Progressive activists plan evening of banner & button making to prepare for No Kings weekend in #MTPSC on Tues, June 10, starting at 6 pm. Order your canvas now—details in a blog post. lc-up-is-good.blogspot.com/2025/05/bann... Tags #chsresist & #TIDEmobilize #TIDELCmobilize
June 2, 2025 at 11:23 AM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
Attend Court Hearing on MT PSC Districts

Next week Montana Conservation Voters will present evidence in court that the #MTLeg disenfranchised voters by allowing PSC Commissioners to choose their voters.
#MTPol #Montana #MTPSC #FairDistricting #Districting
secure.everyaction.com/QW9R0HZwEUmJ...
RSVP to Attend Court Hearing on PSC Districts
secure.everyaction.com
December 5, 2024 at 3:29 PM
big-sky-1889.bsky.social
I never thought I would ever agree with anything attorney Matthew Monforton ever said, but I have to admit he hit the nail on the head with this statement...

“The Montana PSC is the most corrupt regulatory agency in the nation,” Monforton said.
(PSC=Public Service Commission)
#MTPSC #corruption
May 8, 2026 at 2:55 AM
tidelc.bsky.social
Attending #MTPSC Master Plan Review session. Major new elements for resilience and disaster preparedness integrated into all sections of the plan
#TIDELCsee
June 16, 2025 at 9:44 PM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
Northwestern Energy wants another Montana utility rate increase. Here's some background. #MTPol #Montana #MTPSC #NorthwesternEnergy #NWE
NORTHERN PLAINS W RESOURCE COUNCIL W NORTHWESTERN ENERGY'S RATE INCREASE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH FORCING MONTANANS TO OVERPAY FOR RISKY CORPORATE INVESTMENTS North Western Energy, Montana's largest monopoly utility serving over 400,000 customers, is pursuing significant electricity rate increases that will afect Montana families and businesses. Because NorthWestern is a regulated monopoly utility, we customers cannot choose a diferent provider. We can, however, make our voice heard. For too long, the body overseeing utility regulation – the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) - has tilted toward ensuring generous returns to the shareholders of investor-owned utilities like NorthWestern. The impacts to customers have been a secondary concern. It's time to rebalance this equation and remember that the whole purpose of overseeing monopoly utilities is to ensure working families and small businesses pay fair and reasonable rates that are not inflated to guarantee corporations artificially excessive profits. BACKGROUND RATE INCREASES ON TOP OF RATE INCREASES Barely over a year ago, in the fall of 2023, North Western Energy was granted a historic 28% rate increase for residential customers. Now, the corporation is asking for an additional 8.3% hike, which would mean a 39% aggregate increase within less than year. UNREALISTIC PROJECTIONS LIKELY TO BRING EVEN HIGHER INCREASES North Western's actual rate increases could be significantly higher. Why? Because the utility's complicated rate structures are based, in part, on power it expects to sell to other energy suppliers. In short, the more power it sells to other energy suppliers, the less customers have to pay under the current rate proposal. Because of this, NorthWestern made wildly optimistic and unrealistic projections about the power it expects to sell to other suppliers in order to deflate the expected rate percentage increase projections it is requesting. Former PSC rate analyst Gary Duncan called NorthWestern's project… ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Laurel Methane-Fired Power Plant A significant part of North Western's rate hike involves the costs associated with its new methane-fired plant in Laurel, the Yellowstone County Generating Station. Monopoly utilities like NorthWestern can seek a return on equity (ROE) for generating plants that it own. This ROE is formulated as a percentage of the costs related to building, operating, and maintaining a facility which functions, in essence, as a “guaranteed profit rate” of sorts. Given North Western Energy functions as a monopoly with no competitors and 400,000 guaranteed customers, a high ROE (profit) percentage is seen by many as an abuse of captive customers. This abuse is compounded by the fact that NorthWestern continues to seek the most expensive energy sources while ignoring the more afordable, reliable, and fastest growing energy sources being embraced by utilities across the county. KEY NUMBERS FOR THE LAUREL PLANT Construction cost: $320 million Lifetime costs: $2.3 billion North Western is seeking a 10.8% return on equity (ROE) for this project (guaranteed profit rate, essentially) WHY THIS RATE INCREASE MATTERS Montana already has some of the highest energy costs in the region (nearly twice our neighbors in Idaho). North Western's excessive rate hike request would mean millions in additional costs passed to Montana families and businesses on the heels of a historic rate increase barely one year ago. Higher electric bills will make it harder for Montanans to aford housing, groceries, medicine, and children's needs. IMPORTANT DATES Public Hearing: April 22, 2025 at the Public Service Commission in Helena Final Decision Expected: Summer/Fall 2025 (possibly October) KEY MESSAGES FOR PUBLIC COMMENTS 1. The proposed 10.8% Return on Equity (guaranteed shareholder profit, essentially) requested by North Western is excessive for a monopoly utility with no competitors and 400,000 guaranteed customers. 2. NorthWestern's recent 28% rate increase has …
January 17, 2025 at 12:24 AM
gailwaldby.bsky.social
This Tuesday, Nov. 18, the #Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) in Helena will vote on whether or not to allow NorthWestern Energy to raise our rates again.

Please call or comment or attend.
#MTPol #MTPSC
docs.google.com/document/d/1...
NorthWestern Energy 2025 Rate Case - Talking Points
NorthWestern Energy 2025 Rate Case Public Comment Guide Tone to Strike 1. Respectful. Acknowledge that having a healthy utility benefits all ratepayers and keeps the lights on. 2. Balanced. Show that...
docs.google.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:08 PM
tidelc.bsky.social
Go Big! Banner and Button Making for No Kings Weekend Tuesday evening, 6 pm in #MTPSC Details in blog post mailchi.mp/55b757f1da77... #TIDELCact #CHSresist Remember LA!
June 10, 2025 at 2:39 PM
cjgphd.bsky.social
Here's a great suggestion for #NWE and #MTPSC to help bring our energy costs down. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/o...
Opinion | A Simple Fix to America’s Soaring Electricity Prices
www.nytimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:05 PM
tidelc.bsky.social
Go Big against the Billionaires for No Kings prorests. Join our Tuesday, June 10 Banner and Button Making workshop in #mtpsc lc-up-is-good.blogspot.com/2025/05/bann... #chsresist #TIDEact
June 9, 2025 at 1:42 AM
wjhamilton29464.bsky.social
Saturday #SC lowcountry transit advocates plan to appear at #CHS country dem. convention and participate in 4 pm #MTPSC meetup in support of saving #ridecarta and preserving Charleston area affordable housing federally funded programs. mailchi.mp/5a6e5727e9a8...
February 28, 2025 at 1:34 PM
gwaldby.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Attend Court Hearing on MT PSC Districts

Next week Montana Conservation Voters will present evidence in court that the #mtleg disenfranchised voters by allowing PSC Commissioners to choose their voters.
#mtpol #montana #mtpsc #fairdistricting #districting […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
December 5, 2024 at 3:37 PM
wjhamilton29464.bsky.social
Plan the 90th Birthday Party of Louise Brown, "Mother of the Movement." On Sun. April 27, #mtpsc Pasta Dinner at the home of Jack Hamilton (oatme & Wendy Temple. Celebrate Brown's 80 years in the fight for social justice. Prepare for her next decade. #TIDEmobilize youtube.com/shorts/Q7cHp...
Prepare for our Progressive Pasta planning dinner on April 27.
YouTube video by William Hamilton
youtube.com
April 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
gwaldby.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Northwestern Energy wants another Montana utility rate increase. Here's some background. #mtpol #montana #mtpsc #northwesternenergy #nwe
Given North Western Energy functions as a monopoly with no competitors and 400,000 guaranteed customers, a high ROE (profit) percentage is seen by many as an abuse of captive customers. This abuse is compounded by the fact that NorthWestern continues to seek the most expensive energy sources while ignoring the more afordable, reliable, and fastest growing energy sources being embraced by utilities across the county. WHY THIS RATE INCREASE MATTERS Montana already has some of the highest energy costs in the region (nearly twice our neighbors in Idaho). North Western's excessive rate hike request would mean millions in additional costs passed to Montana families and businesses on the heels of a historic rate increase barely one year ago. Higher electric bills will make it harder for Montanans to aford housing, groceries, medicine, and children's needs. 1. The proposed 10.8% Return on Equity (guaranteed shareholder profit, essentially) requested by North Western is excessive for a monopoly utility with no competitors and 400,000 guaranteed customers. 2. NorthWestern's recent 28% rate increase has already created significant financial challenges for working Montanans. 3. The Public Service Commission should prioritize customer afordability over excessive profits in its oversight of monopoly utilities like NorthWestern Energy. 4. Afordable energy solutions should be considered before rate-basing the $320 million Laurel plant. North Western Energy, Montana's largest monopoly utility serving over 400,000 customers, is pursuing significant electricity rate increases that will afect Montana families and businesses. Because NorthWestern is a regulated monopoly utility, we customers cannot choose a diferent provider. We can, however, make our voice heard. For too long, the body overseeing utility regulation – the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC) - has tilted toward ensuring generous returns to the shareholders of investor-owned utilities like NorthWestern. The impacts to customers have been a secondary concern. It's time to rebalance this equation and remember that the whole purpose of overseeing monopoly utilities is to ensure working families and small businesses pay fair and reasonable rates that are not inflated to guarantee corporations artificially excessive profits. RATE INCREASES ON TOP OF RATE INCREASES Barely over a year ago, in the fall of 2023, North Western Energy was granted a historic 28% rate increase for residential customers. Now, the corporation is asking for an additional 8.3% hike, which would mean a 39% aggregate increase within less than year.
January 17, 2025 at 2:59 PM