(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Higher bills and more pollution? No wonder NorthWestern Energy is hiding – Daily Montanan [1] ['More From Author', 'April', 'Larry Bean'] Date: 2023-04-23 Imagine a world where the law forces customers to buy from a single corporation. Imagine that same law guarantees profits for using expensive, outdated and risky business practices. Worse yet, imagine this corporation chooses to emit dangerous toxic pollutants while hiding from public scrutiny. You need not imagine this scenario. It’s how North Western Energy conducts business in Montana, and we customers deserve better. The monopoly energy corporation is building an expensive, polluting methane-fired power plant along the Yellowstone River in Laurel. Thus far, NorthWestern has managed to evade any meaningful public input. That is until last Thursday. Montana District Judge Michael Moses ordered the construction of the plant to be halted. Why? The health and environmental impacts, that will surely come if this facility is allowed to operate, were not properly considered. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality issued a permit based only on the inadequate data provided by NorthWestern. Laurel residents (and Billings residents downwind) will experience carcinogenic air pollution. State agencies tasked to protect our health and air quality have documented that the plant will emit toxic Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) including formaldehyde, propylene and benzene. Folks living within a few miles of the plant will contend with loud engine noise and overbearing industrial lighting all hours of the day and night, with this massive plant dominating what used to be an agricultural area. In fact, the plant’s site is still zoned for agricultural use, but that hasn’t stopped NorthWestern from continuing industrial construction without proper zoning permits. Not only does the corporation want to keep us in the dark about the environmental impact its plant will have on the Yellowstone valley, NorthWestern does not want us to know the full amount that it wants to take out of the ratepayers’ pockets. NorthWestern already raised our rates late last year, and it’s trying to get even higher rate increases approved right now. Bad business decisions like this expensive plant are part of the reasoning for rate increases. Thus far, NorthWestern has barreled forward without meaningful public hearings or comment periods. What is the corporation hiding? And why is it building such an expensive, polluting plant when other responsible energy companies in our region are investing in reliable energy sources that are cleaner, safer, and more affordable? It’s because of a rigged system that the monopoly corporation is abusing. The technical term is “Return on Equity” or ROE. The state of Montana guarantees NorthWestern an 11% profit (or “Return on Equity”) for building, operating and maintaining power plants. This creates incentives for NorthWestern to look for alternatives that create the most profit for the owners, the customers be damned. What a grand money-making machine it is trying to force on us. Just think, the cost of the plant (estimated at a third of a billion dollars), maintenance and operation of very complicated internal combustion engines, and an increasingly expensive fuel for which this plant will compete and help to make prices even higher, all paid for by you and me, plus a guaranteed 11% profit. NorthWestern has brazenly abused its monopoly position, and this expensive methane-fired plant that will pollute the entire Yellowstone River valley is just the latest chapter. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/04/23/higher-bills-and-more-pollution-no-wonder-northwestern-energy-is-hiding/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/