Originally published on May 5, 2021 4:24 pm
Two new Montana laws that aim to keep the Colstrip coal-fired power plant open and running sparked a
lawsuit from plant owners who say the government is intruding on private business dealings.
Colstrip power plant owners headquartered in Washington State and Oregon filed a complaint in federal court Tuesday alleging two bills passed by Montana lawmakers and signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte late Monday illegally stepped into a private business contract involving the coal power plant.
“It is unconstitutional. It has a chilling impact on business when you’ve got a legislature rewriting the terms of a very long standing business agreement,” said Steve Secrist, the general counsel for Puget Sound Energy.
Montana coal-fired plant owners say new law interferes in Colstrip contract By Associated Press
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BILLINGS, Mont. The majority owners of a coal-fired power plant in southern Montana filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday alleging a bill signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte unconstitutionally interferes with a private business contract that has governed the operation of the Colstrip power plant for 40 years.
Gianforte, a Republican, described the new law and a second measure affecting Colstrip as retaliation against Washington clean energy laws that have imposed an upcoming ban on coal power in that state over climate change concerns.
Four owners of the Colstrip power plant do business in Washington, where most of the plant’s energy is consumed. In 2019, the Washington legislature passed a bill to ban the use of coal-generated power in the state by the end of 2025.
The Colstrip Steam Electric Station
Two new Montana laws that aim to keep the Colstrip coal-fired power plant open and running sparked a
lawsuit from plant owners who say the government is intruding on private business dealings.
Colstrip power plant owners headquartered in Washington State and Oregon filed a complaint in federal court Tuesday alleging two bills passed by Montana lawmakers and signed by Gov. Greg Gianforte late Monday illegally stepped into a private business contract involving the coal power plant.
“It is unconstitutional. It has a chilling impact on business when you’ve got a legislature rewriting the terms of a very long standing business agreement,” said Steve Secrist, the general counsel for Puget Sound Energy.
TOM LUTEY
A majority of the owners of Colstrip Power Plant sued Tuesday over a new Montana law nullifying portions of the plantâs 40-year-old business contract, calling the law unconstitutional.
Owners Puget Sound Energy, Avista Corp., PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric filed the lawsuit Tuesday morning in U.S. District Court in Billings, suggesting the law violates both the U.S. and state constitutions.
At issue is a new law approved by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on Monday. The law forces disputes among the power plantâs six owners be settled through Montana courts, instead of Washington as currently spelled out by the Colstrip Ownership and Operation Agreement. The law invalidates contracts that don t settle disputes through Montana courts.
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