“Trust us,” says NorthWestern Energy, the state’s largest public utility, which requested a historic rate increase two years ago, only to be faced with another big rate increase this year that has rattled its Montana customers.
“Trust us,” says the same company that, in a plea to the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, can’t even tell the truth when it claims a coal-fired power plant in southern Montana is the largest power plant west of the Mississippi, even though it’s apparently not in the top three. And don’t even get me started on NorthWestern’s crocodile tears because the company needs to upgrade Colstrip, even though it’s literally planning to shut it down because the cost of abating pollution, which has been known for decades, is exorbitant.
“Trust us,” says NorthWestern as the company plunges headlong into more fossil fuels while most other utilities are investing in renewable energy. Some are building multimillion-dollar projects in Montana to transport energy several states away.
So it’s probably no surprise that NorthWestern is again asking for trust in the company as it seeks to exclude the public from meetings where members (*looks at his notes again) are supposed to help the public develop a plan for the utility’s future in Montana.
As it turns out, the public is a burden and an inconvenience, but not so much that the utility company couldn’t squeeze a decent return out of us at a moment’s notice.
In fact, NorthWestern Energy is so disregardful of the public that they have told the Montana Public Service Commission that it is “imperative” to keep the public away from their meetings where the future of Montana’s energy landscape is discussed. In fact, the utility’s officials are so disdainful of the public that they do not even disclose the members of their company who sit on the Electrical Technical Advisory Committee, even though they are required by law to appear in public.
The Montana Public Service Commission has recently shown a new sense of independence, both demanding answers to this secret committee and publicly reprimanding NorthWestern for its shoddy tariff plan – twice.
Like all publicly regulated utilities, NorthWestern is guaranteed a reasonable rate of return (read: profit margin) in exchange for public participation in its business. Many companies would likely accept this deal – a guarantee of financial success in exchange for a bit of public control.
The problem is twofold: NorthWestern is used to getting what it wants from the Public Service Commission, whether through boasting or legal threats, and the company balks at the humiliation of having to explain why it prefers to keep the public out.
But NorthWestern is learning the most basic rule of public participation. True, involving the public in comment and involvement guarantees a more drawn-out and messy process. It is not as easy for companies or executives to insist on their way. And involving the public, even dissenting voices, means compromise and sometimes considering uncomfortable questions, such as the role of fossil fuel combustion in the sometimes catastrophic climate change unfolding under the “big sky.”
However, I would argue that NorthWestern wants both. It wants to dictate how and what it builds in the future, and it wants to charge the price it wants to charge its dependent customers who have no choice but to pay. But this ignores the public aspect of public utilities, which is that customers should have a say in what kind of power they want.
By intentionally not disclosing information, even basic information like who is on the committee and what issues are being discussed, NorthWestern is creating its own public relations nightmare that has consumers, residents and curious columnists fearing the worst because the utility admits to intentionally suppressing information that everyone else thinks should be public.
It’s great that the groups that have brought this issue to the forefront continue to demand action. If we are to be held captive by a company whose future plans include taking us back to the days of coal, then transparency would be welcome. And we are encouraged that the Public Service Commission has taken a more critical and even confrontational stance, literally putting the “public service” aspect back into the equation.
So if NorthWestern Energy is asking us to trust them, I would suggest it’s time to turn the tables: When will the company finally start trusting the public?
