Citing concerns about the prices that Montanans pay for electricity as well as reliability of the state’s electricity system, PPL Montana today (2/22) filed a petition to intervene in a matter NorthWestern Energy recently brought before the state Public Service Commission.
“The power-purchase contracts and arrangements proposed by NorthWestern in a Feb. 7 filing with the commission may not be in the best interests of Montana electricity consumers,” said Brad Spencer, vice president and chief operating officer of PPL Montana.
While PPL has a strong track record of supporting renewable energy, Spencer said there are many crucial unanswered questions about NorthWestern’s proposed arrangement with the planned Judith Gap Energy wind project.
“We strongly support renewable energy and, in fact, we own and operate 576 megawatts of highly reliable hydroelectric generating capacity in Montana. We understand that the state may want to promote other renewable forms of energy by increasing the costs that consumers pay for electricity, but we believe that the magnitude of the cost increase inherent in this proposal is obscured in the proposal filed by NorthWestern,” said Spencer.
“The PSC and the residents of Montana deserve a clear accounting regarding the cost of electricity from this project, which we believe will be significantly higher than the current market price in this region,” he said.
With rare exceptions, Spencer said, NorthWestern Energy should procure the lowest cost electricity supplies for its customers who have no choice of supplier.
“The PSC should have complete information on NorthWestern’s entire proposed portfolio, rather than being asked to make judgments on a piecemeal basis,” said Spencer. “The current process being pursued by NorthWestern does not give the PSC the information needed to make sound judgments about the financial impacts on Montana customers.”
Spencer said PPL Montana provided 10 separate product offerings with multiple variations on quantity, term and price in response to NorthWestern’s request for proposals. “Included in the PPL package was an offer to provide all the electricity needed for NorthWestern’s default supply at a price we believe would provide the lowest cost, long-term supply of electricity for Montana customers. Unfortunately, NorthWestern turned its back on these attractive offers and has pursued this puzzling path,” he said.
PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus, both subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), have offices in Butte, Billings and Helena, and together employ about 500 people in Montana. PPL Montana operates the Colstrip and Corette generating plants and 11 hydroelectric facilities within the state. More information is available at www.pplmontana.com.