A majority of the owners of Colstrip Power Plant sued Tuesday over a new Montana law nullifying portions of the plant’s 40-year-old business contract, calling the law unconstitutional.
It’s official, Montana is attempting to nullify portions of the private contract that has governed Colstrip Power Plant for 40 years.
Coal was back on the menu at the Montana Legislature where Republicans voted to make it easier for Colstrip Power Plant to cut ties with neighboring Rosebud Mine, or alter its coal supply.
Update April 28, 8:45 a.m.: On reconsideration Wednesday morning, lawmakers decided there were better places than the Public Service Commission budget to find $75,000 for an investigation into the PSC's decision to not allow NorthWestern Energy to bill customers for $6 million stemming from a months-long summer malfunction at Colstrip Power Plant. The money will come from the state general fund.
Talen and the other companies suggested they could cut carbon emissions to levels equal to 20% of what pollution levels were in 2005.
Montana's attorney general is one step closer to taking up NorthWestern Energy’s fight over Colstrip Power Plant repairs, following a Monday state House vote to nullify portions of the private business agreement governing the generator.
A last-ditch effort to save Colstrip Power Plant and shield NorthWestern Energy from financial losses, should the coal-fired generator shut down, won final Senate approval Thursday, despite warnings about consumer debt.
Despite continued warnings about burdening consumers with Colstrip Power Plant debt, Senate Republicans moved forward Tuesday with a bill shielding NorthWestern Energy from financial losses associated with the troubled plant.
As three generations of utility regulators warned state lawmakers against a bill saddling consumers with a Colstrip Power Plant debt, NorthWestern Energy said the generator would shutter in four years without it.
Worried it will be left without water once its namesake power plant closes, the town of Colstrip is asking the Montana Legislature to require the supply keep flowing as part of environmental cleanup.
The first transition grants for people affected by changes at the Colstrip Power Plant and Rosebud mine are being offered through the end of April.
Senate Bill 266 empowers the state attorney general to force power plant businesses to make necessary repairs.
Two proposals regarding nuclear power advanced Tuesday in the Montana Legislature, with one bill in particular, which would strike down a 43-year-old referendum, sparking some debate among lawmakers.
Colstrip Power Plant owners are disputing the coal ash cleanup plans chosen by Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality, calling a required $285 million cleanup bond “grossly excessive.”
Eight years after it started working on a cleanup plan for the toxic coal ash ponds at Colstrip Power Plant, Gov. Steve Bullock’s administration is running out of time to finalize cleanup terms for the environmental mess.
Puget Sound Energy has canceled the sale of Colstrip Unit 4 shares to NorthWestern Energy and Talen Energy.
When Washington state pulls the plug on the Colstrip Power Plant, utility customers in Idaho shouldn’t be left with the costs related to the coal-fired generator, regulators have advised.
NorthWestern's Montana customers collectively saw a one-year rate increase of $23.8 million starting in October of 2019. The difference between $14.3 million and what NorthWestern has already collected will have to be credited back.
NorthWestern Energy customers spoke against the utility’s plans to buy more of Colstrip Power Plant during a Public Service Commission listening session Tuesday that most commissioners didn’t attend.
The public, starting Oct. 13, will have three chances to comment about NorthWestern Energy’s plans to increase its share in Colstrip Power Plant Unit 4.
Rather than selling its shares in Colstrip power plant, it would be better for Washington consumers for Puget Sound Energy to keep its shares in the troubled power plant and use the utility’s ownership leverage to shut down the power plant entirely by the end of 2025, Washington’s consumer advocate and the staff of the state’s utility commission said.
Delayed once already by COVID-19 concerns, Colstrip Unit 4 will shut down for maintenance this fall, with the possibility of prolonged, and costly, outages if the work can’t be completed.
Demolition has started on parts of Colstrip Power Plant used to service its oldest units.
Colstrip Power Plant co-owner PacifiCorp has agreed to remove Colstrip from customer bills in Washington state by 2023, two years ahead of the state’s 2025 coal power ban.
Regulators have hit the pause button on NorthWestern Energy’s proposed purchase of an increased share of Colstrip Unit 4.