BILLINGS - The issue of how much you pay for electricity is bringing people together in Montana, with many demanding more transparency from the Montana Public Service Commission.
An environmental group fears Montana ratepayers could be left behind if the commission approves the NorthWestern Energy-Black Hills Energy merger without further review.
Watch PSC NorthWestern Black Hills story here:
While still concerned about the environment, 350 Montana has its focus is on your electricity bill.
“What we want to do is we want to protect our ratepayers' pocketbooks,” said Jim Parker, part of 350 Montana’s leadership team.
Parker said the Public Service Commission has not done enough for the citizens of Montana.
“We want the transparency upfront before decisions are being made so that our public service commission can go down in history as taking accountability for the ratepayers that they serve,” Parker said.
A 350 Montana filing with the PSC alleges NorthWestern's proposal is a shell game, and the merger with Black Hills is designed to serve Artificial Intellegence data centers over everyday Montanans.
“And you can't follow the money if all of the money is hidden under these shells that they're moving around and we can't see,” said Monica Tranel, attorney for 350 Montana.
Tranel filed a supplemental motion and says the PSC is not addressing concerns about labor and data centers.
“Our case is that the commission has to see everything that matters in order to fairly evaluate this merger and determine whether or not it should be approved,” Tranel said.
“The issues that she's raising are the same ones I've been raising since the docket was announced and they said you can't do it in six months,” said PSC Commissioner Brad Molnar, R-Laurel.
Molnar says he's asked for more time to study the documents submitted by NorthWestern, but three of the five commissioners denied his request.
However, Commissioner Randy Pinoci, R-Great Falls, said that 350 Montana's filing shows that he and Molnar were right to call for more diligence and oversight.
Q2 contacted Commissioner Jennifer Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, and Commissioner Annie Bukacek, R-Kalispell, and have not yet heard back.
Commisisoner Jeff Welborn, R-Dillon, says he will need to hear testimony before offering an opinion.
But Jayme Peterson, PSC external affairs coordinator, issued a statement behalf Welborn:
“The Commission, by majority, has already addressed this matter through an order issued in December.”
NorthWestern and Black Hills issued separate statements with the same wording, stating:
“NorthWestern Energy and Black Hills Corporation's merger application provides clear factual evidence that the merger will result in a stronger, more resilient company to safely, reliably, and cost effectively meet customers' evolving energy needs.”
The company filed a formal response with the PSC on Friday afternoon.
“It's a fight over will the cheapest energy in America serve the people of Montana or will it serve the data centers?” Molnar asked.
