BUTTE - Environmental groups in Montana have filed a request with the Public Service Commission to learn if there would be any financial impact on NorthWestern Energy customers if three proposed data centers open in Montana.
“We’re fighting to make sure the public citizens are not stuck with a bad bill from a bad project,” Butte Watchdog for Social and Environmental Justice member Evan Barrett said.
Attorneys with Earth Justice, which is representing nine groups, requested that the PSC investigate the possible impact the data centers would have on NorthWestern Energy customers.
The utility received letters of intent from two data centers looking to open near Butte and one near Billings. The concern is that the centers use massive amounts of energy because they store thousands of hard drives in large warehouses.
Watch: Three data centers proposed for Montana could impact your energy bills. Environmental groups want answers before they're built
“Where’s that generation going to come from? Who’s going to pay for it? And we want to make sure the commission does an investigation to ensure that it’s not residential customers that are left sort of footing that bill,” Attorney E. Lars Phillips said.
NorthWestern Energy told MTN News in an email that Montana should not be left behind in the growing data center industry.
“New commercial customers with large energy loads, including data centers, will pay their fair share of integration and service costs. Infrastructure investments will ultimately mean a larger, more resilient energy system in Montana; however, new large load customers, such as data centers, will have to pay for their costs to integrate with the energy system.”
Barrett said the request is focused on transparency.
“We need facts out in the open, transparency to drive decisions, and we hope the PSC people insist on that, and we hope the city and NorthWestern Energy will join us in that effort,” Barrett said.
The PSC responded to MTN News with this statement:
"The Commission is in receipt of this complaint.
While statute does not set a specific timeline for responding to the Earthjustice complaint, the Commission follows a defined, statute-driven process. Upon receipt of a complaint, we open a docket, serve the filing on the defendant—in this case, NorthWestern Energy—and request a response within 20 days or within a timeframe determined by the Commission. Complainants are then provided an opportunity to reply. The relevant statutes are attached for reference. This process must be completed before the matter can come before the Commission for a decision."
