NWE agrees to $765,000 in fines

In early December, the MT PSC approved a settlement with NWE over matters concerning how they handled the affiliate transaction of Colstrip 4 (which was owned by an affiliate of NWE before being "bought" by the consumer rate-base).  In particular, the MT PSC found that NWE had used it's public utility revolving credit line to finance transactions, which is backed by the Montana Consumer, without seeking the MT PSC's approval as required.  The matter was finally resolved in District Court, where the settlement was reached.  

The Order and settlement provide that NorthWestern Energy will invest shareholder money in three projects:

• $500,000 in a 1-MW flywheel demonstration project to help augment their new Mill Creek generation station, and primary frequency regulation resource for load and supply variability
• $265,000 in creating a Smart-Grid demonstration house in Helena, that will showcase the potential for new technologies and energy efficiency. 
• Continued participation and funding of the Pacific NorthWest Smart-Grid pilot, which is a multi-million dollar effort of utilities in the region to test and deploy certain technologies.  

Commissioner Molnar dissented on the Order, but did not provide any written dissent explaining his decision.   Neither Mike Dennison or any paper in the state picked up the story...