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Montana looks to fix mistake. State trying to rebuild electric utility after deregulation failed

Almost a decade after the utility deregulation fad swept through, Montana is learning the hard way it isn’t easy to rebuild the broken pieces of a stable, publicly regulated utility once it’s gone.

Montana’s plight is unique in some ways, but it is not the only state where resentment to electricity deregulation is growing.

When the old Montana Power Co. came to lawmakers in 1997 with a plan to offer consumers a multitude of choices for cheap power, deregulation was seen as inevitable. But power today isn’t cheaper — it’s far more expensive — and the other promises made that year now ring hollow.

Full Story: http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/national_intl_business/article/0,1713,BDC_2464_4513233,00.html

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Returning The Power?

by Pete Geddes

Montana’s experiment with electricity restructuring didn’t deliver its promises of lower costs. NorthWestern Energy’s residential customers currently pay some of the highest electricity rates in the region. And prices are likely headed higher. This has important consequences for policymakers concerned about Montana’s poor and elderly citizens.

Is there a fix? A group called Montana Public Power (MPP) thinks so. They’ve convinced five cities — Missoula, Great Falls, Helena, Butte, and Bozeman — to invest $1 million ($200,000 per city) to explore the purchase of NorthWestern Energy. By creating a publicly owned, nonprofit utility, they promise to keep energy costs low and pass the savings on to consumers. Really?

Full Story: http://www.free-eco.org/articleDisplay.php?id=494

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