Latest news with #MontanaPowerCompany
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Montana Public Service Commission finally stands up to NorthWestern Energy
Electricity pylons (Photo by Getty Images). It's fair to say Montanans have been raked over the coals for electricity costs by the utility companies that have followed in the wake of the disastrous utility deregulation bill passed by the 1997 Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Marc Racicot. The faulty premise on which the measure was sold to the Legislature was that Montanans would enjoy lower electricity costs thanks to customers having 'choice' to shop among the various utilities that were supposed to materialize. But that didn't happen. The opponents to the measure cited the simple fact that Montana already had the lowest price for electricity in the region, thanks in large part because Montana customers had already paid the Montana Power Company, as a regulated monopoly, to build and maintain a series of hydroelectric dams. As one long-time lineman quipped 'you can't make electricity cheaper than water running downhill.' Driven by the Montana Power Company's intent to change from a utility to a telecommunications company, Touch America, the 200+ page bill was jammed through in the last weeks of the session with most legislators having no idea what was in it — nor the consequences of their actions. Yet the Republican legislative majorities voted to grant Montana Power's wish, bolstered by the Butte Democrats — except for brave Danny Harrington who didn't kow-tow to the utility. It was arguably the worst decision ever made by Montana's lawmakers and governor. First to go were the dams, which were sold to an out-of-state utility, Pennsylvania Power and Light. Next to go was the Montana Power Company itself, taking with it the pensions and stock holdings of Montanans who thought of it as 'our' power company. Then Touch America, headed by Bob Gannon, the former CEO of the Montana Power Company, went bankrupt. In the meantime, Montanans' electricity bills began their skyward climb as the dams were sold yet again, each time for a higher price, that was then loaded on customers. Realizing the extent of the damage caused by the deregulation debacle, the Legislature finally decided to re-regulate in 2001. NorthWestern Energy is now our 'regulated' electricity supplier since acquiring the system in 2000. It's fair to say Montana's Public Service Commission has not been diligent in holding down rates, which have gone from the lowest to the highest in the region. But here's the good news. Thanks to Brad Molnar, who was a commissioner from 2004-2012, was re-elected in 2024, and is now the new president of the Commission, NorthWestern has finally hit resistance to its unending requests for rate increases. In a tremendous article, Daily Montanan's deputy editor, Keila Szpaller, lays out in detail Molnar's firm stance against the increase. Citing a 50-year old law, NorthWestern claims the Commission did not take timely action and raised rates nearly 17% on May 25 without Commission approval. Molnar says the increase 'will be crushing to many low-income people, many of whom are simply elderly, that are being handed their butts every day in property tax increases, in utilities, insurance for their houses, insurance for their cars. You name it. This is a very, very bad time to be a poor person, and this will make it worse.' If the rate increase is unjustified, NorthWestern will have to refund the over-charge plus 10%. As Molnar put it: 'It is time for them to grow up and quit playing the victim and actually take responsibility for their actions.' We'll see what happens, but for now, Montanans owe a debt of gratitude to Commissioner Molnar for finally standing up to NorthWestern instead of rubber-stamping their endless rate increases.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Running government like a business is a bust
Billionaire Elon Musk, left accompanied by U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and Musk's son, X Musk, speaks during an executive order signing in the Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by) Politicians love to spew the line that they will 'run government like a business.' But one might wonder where they get that idea since neither the U.S. Constitution nor the Montana Constitution contain even one line saying that's the goal for how our national and state governments should operate. Yet, when people hear that line they assume it will mean government will theoretically be better. Here in Montana, former governor Marc Racicot gave it a shot 32 years ago, following the precepts of a popular book titled Reinventing Government, to reorganize state agencies. The book describes how 'entrepreneurial public managers are transforming the public sector with decentralized, customer-driven, and market-oriented approaches.' Racicot's line, straight from the book, was a promise to make government 'more efficient and effective.' In truth, it was a costly exercise that provided few, if any, of the promised efficiencies since entire agencies were shuttered, merged, and moved from existing office spaces into different buildings — many of which had to be modified extensively while other new and extremely costly buildings were constructed. Even just moving the files, desks, computers, monitors, and copying machines was a costly and time-consuming process some likened to re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. And of course all the letterhead, envelopes, etc., had to be reprinted while the existing agency materials hit the trash or recycling can — unused, but efficiently discarded. Ironically, there was absolutely no way to determine if government actually improved for agencies or the public. Thanks to erasing the 'baseline' operational costs and efficiencies, the state started over with new agencies lacking any track record, good or bad. And that doesn't count the inefficiencies the reorganization engendered — including months of 'advisory committees' to hammer out such vital issues as mission statements for the new agencies. When it came to 'increasing competition' — another tenet of Reinventing Government — Montanans got utility deregulation that was supposed to bring down our electricity rates because we'd have more 'choice' and theoretically, competition would drive lower prices. The result was one of the worst decisions in Montana's history, causing the destruction of the Montana Power Company, loss of pensions, crashed stocks, and sale of the utility assets to out of state corporations that immediately raised electricity prices from the lowest in the region to the highest. And no, competition did not materialize since few utilities found serving Montana's small and widely spread population a profitable venture. Only a few years later, the Legislature decided to re-regulate the utility sector, but the damage was done and continues to impact citizens, businesses and institutions to this day. Given Montana's experience, it's hard to accept the current dismantling of the federal government by 'entrepreneurs' President Donald Trump and Elon Musk while spewing the same phony lines about improving efficiency and effectiveness and eliminating 'waste and abuse.' Instead, we get a MAGA fever dream where long-standing institutions and agencies are crippled or gutted entirely. Now, we're left wondering if any of the functions of the federal government will be operable after the chainsaw massacre by the 'department' of government efficiency is done shutting then re-opening, firing then rehiring, stopping then restarting, in one of the clumsiest and amateurish executive branch abuses of power ever seen. They say 'the once burnt child fears the fire.' Montanans still carry the scars from being burned by the enormous policy mistakes of the 90s. It would behoove our all-Republican congressional delegation to put down their pom-poms, knock off the vacuous cheerleading, and start safeguarding the state and nation from repeating the foolish and costly mistakes of delusional 'entrepreneurial' executive actions that burned Montanans in the past.
