Enough Is Enough, NWE
This Letter to the Editor originally appeared in The Missoulian on 8/7/2024. The author, Michale Hudson, is Families for a Livable Climate Volunteer Clean Energy Working Group Leader and this article has been published here with his full knowledge and consent.
On the heels of last month's storm and record-breaking heat, Northwestern Energy announced it will soon triple its use of coal in Montana (by acquiring more shares of Colstrip).
Yet NWE’s leadership knows that burning coal has driven climate change and extreme weather more than any other energy source, and they know they are the only utility in the country adding more coal. The plants they would acquire are old, unreliable, and have failed repeatedly during extreme weather and peak demand. They cost more to operate than wind or solar.
Across the country, other utilities are combining renewables and storage to provide affordable and reliable energy — we want the same.
Northwestern Energy won’t pay anything for this acquisition because the current owners don’t want these plants anymore -- but the estimated cost to keep them operational is 2 billion dollars. NWE will profit dramatically because they expect us to pay for these upgrades plus an extra 200 million (10%) in guaranteed profit directly to them. That is $5,400 per customer. This doesn’t include the 100+ million in annual costs which we will also have to pay for.
NWE customers already pay more for electricity than anyone else in the Pacific or Mountain northwest. Make some noise and let them know we want affordable, clean power now. Enough is enough. NWE workers worked so hard to get the power back on last week; now it's time for their leaders to do their part to protect our futures from extreme.
Michael Hudson
Missoula
Ready to take action?
Northwestern Energy is the only utility in the country adding coal at this time -- across the country coal use has dropped precipitously, but NWE sees a chance to earn massive profits by forcing us to pay them a guaranteed 10% profit on all the plant's upgrades and repairs. They are headed the wrong direction. Not only are they adding fossil fuels, they just asked for another rate increase –the second in less than a year.
Get involved - Write a 250 word (or less) Letter to the Editor -- it can be short, heart-felt, and simple. Submit them here. NWE executives, board members, and investors pay attention when their name comes up in papers. If we can stop this acquisition, these emissions could be permanently stopped in less than 2 years.
For more information and ways to get involved visit takebackourpower.org