March 16, 2005

Contact: David Hoffman, 406-457-5302

PPL Montana Petitions Court Regarding Tax Ruling

In a petition filed today (3/16), PPL Montana is asking the State District Court to rule on issues left unresolved by a recent State Tax Appeals Board ruling that lowered the property tax assessments on the company’s power plants.

The Montana Department of Revenue also has requested a judicial review of the STAB decision.

“While we remain committed to reaching a negotiated settlement on these issues as promptly as possible, we have reached the same conclusion as the Department of Revenue on the need for judicial consideration,” said David Hoffman, manager-External Affairs for PPL Montana. “This petition allows us, just as DOR has done, to preserve our options as the settlement discussions continue.”

PPL Montana filed its petition in the First Judicial District Court, located in Lewis & Clark County. The state DOR appeal was filed in Cascade County.

Hoffman said PPL Montana believes that the First Judicial District Court is the appropriate venue to resolve expeditiously all issues arising from the STAB decision. Only the First Judicial District Court has the authority to deal with issues relating to all of PPL Montana’s properties involved in the decision and with administrative procedural issues involving state agencies, he said. 

The petition asks the court to enforce the STAB decision reducing the company’s property tax assessments in 2000, 2001 and 2002. It also asks that reductions consistent with the decision also be ordered for 2003 and 2004.

“These property tax appeals always have been about fundamental fairness,” said Hoffman. “PPL Montana’s power plants are assessed at significantly higher values than other similar plants in Montana. At one location, our assessment is double that of another owner of the identical facility.”

Hoffman said PPL Montana is hopeful that the filings by both parties will lead to fruitful settlement discussions and a near-term resolution of the issues involved. “It is in the best interests of all parties involved to resolve these inequities and move forward so that the local jurisdictions can have certainty at last for their budgets,” he said.

PPL Montana, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL), has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. With about 500 employees, PPL Montana operates the coal-fired Colstrip and Corette power plants and 11 hydroelectric facilities along the Missouri, Flathead, Clark Fork and Madison rivers and Rosebud Creek. PPL EnergyPlus, another PPL subsidiary, operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power in the wholesale energy market. More information is available at www.pplmontana.com.