Explosive Piece by Former NYT Editor Points Finger at Fauci newstalk955.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from newstalk955.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
TOM LUTEY
Another attempt to shift Colstrip Power Plant expenses onto NorthWestern Energy customers surfaced Friday as Senate Republicans hijacked a water and sewer bill, amending it with language benefiting the stateâs largest monopoly utility.
The title of House Bill 695 still suggests it remedies public water supply disputes, but seven lines into the bill, thereâs now an abrupt turn toward NorthWestern Energy and its ongoing challenges at Colstrip Power Plant. The amendment was made Friday morning by the Senate Natural Resources Committee and passed on a partisan vote of 7 to 5.
The bill now guarantees that NorthWesternâs 379,000 Montana customers will pay for replacement power, should Colstrip break down or go offline for testing as is has twice in recent years.
TOM LUTEY
Despite continued warnings about burdening consumers with Colstrip Power Plant debt, Senate Republicans moved forward Tuesday with a bill shielding NorthWestern Energy from financial losses associated with the troubled plant.
Lawmakers voted 30-19 Tuesday to approve Senate Bill 379, which obligates customers of NorthWestern Energy to paying off the undepreciated book value of the power plant regardless of whether Colstrip Power Plant continues to operate. The bill also provides a formula for determining the customer debt for additional shares, rather than basing the debt on what NorthWestern actually paid for additional ownership.
Simply put, Colstrip Power Plant and NorthWesternâs investment in it are in trouble. Four of the power plantâs other owners, with a 70% majority advantage, face coal power bans in Washington and Oregon starting in 2025.
Colstrip bill draws critics, hearing Tuesday helenair.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from helenair.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.