This story is excerpted from the MT Lowdown, a weekly newsletter digest containing original reporting and analysis published every Friday.
The Montana Public Service Commission last week fielded comments from more than 80 people weighing in on a petition that asks the PSC to incorporate climate impacts into its regulatory oversight of monopoly utility companies.
Most comments came from Montanans who packed the commission’s chambers last Monday to ask the state’s utility board to factor in the social, economic and environmental costs of greenhouse gas emissions as it regulates shareholder-owned power companies. Proponents, many citing a district court judge’s ruling for the plaintiffs in the Held v. Montana youth climate lawsuit, pointed to climate change’s impacts on their livelihoods, health and recreational traditions. They also argued that considering climate impacts will lower customer bills by forcing for-profit utilities to give fuel-free solar and wind technologies a closer look.
Opponents offered a variety of takes on the proposal, with some expressing concern about the potential job losses and customer costs they said could stem from a rapid shift away from fossil fuels. Others went so far as to assert that Montana’s climate isn’t actually changing.
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Jeff Smith, with climate advocacy group 350 Montana, argued that the barriers to clean energy adoption in Montana are not “technical or economic, but political and social.”
“With your leadership, Montana could become the first state in the union to generate all of its electricity from clean, renewable energy,” Smith said.
Proponent Max Scheder-Bieschin argued that the PSC could push NorthWestern Energy, the state’s largest power company, to be more proactive on climate action. He specifically criticized the company for not having renewable energy experts on its senior management roster despite rapid growth in renewables nationally and for planning to add more coal-fired power to its portfolio while other regional utilities go all-in on Montana wind farms. (NorthWestern, which has committed to reaching “net zero” carbon emissions by 2050, maintains that fossil fuel-powered generation remains a necessary tool for ensuring grid reliability.)
Petition opponent Charles Robison with the Montana Chamber of Commerce said he’s “especially concerned about low-income Montanans and Montana businesses,” and argued that it’s “really not practicable” to quantify the social costs of greenhouse gas emissions “with real precision.”
Amanda Frickle with the Montana AFL-CIO said the heart of the matter “is not about climate change — whether it’s happening or whether it’s destructive,” but rather “who should pay for the cost of climate change.” Frickle said shifting away from fossil fuels would result in massive job losses and urged the commission not to accept the petition on those grounds.
Other opponents, however, suggested that carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas, is a “miracle molecule” that should be celebrated for its ability to spur crop growth and increase soil moisture rather than “demonized” and regulated.
Gregory Wrightstone, executive director of the CO2 Coalition, further argued that Montana’s snowpacks are not shrinking and that wildfire activity in the state has not increased over the past 100 years. That assessment contradicts findings by, among others, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Montana Climate Office.
The CO2 Coalition, a nonprofit that rejects the scientific consensus surrounding carbon emissions’ impacts on climate change, had been invited to present at the commission’s request.
The commission is expected to issue a decision on the petition by the end of the month. If it decides to move forward with rulemaking, it will have another 60 days following that to craft rules.
This story was updated on April 15, 2024, to correct the spelling of Gregory Wrightstone’s name
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