HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana Public Service Commission has approved NorthWestern Energy’s $900 million plan to purchase 11 hydroelectric dams and charge the cost to its electricity customers.
The commission voted 4-1 to approve the deal Thursday after nine months of review. Commissioner Travis Kavulla cast the lone vote against the plan.
The deal would increase electric rates by 6.5 percent, or add nearly $5 more per month to the bill of the average electricity customer.
The dams included in the sale are on the Missouri, Madison, Flathead and Clark Fork rivers and West Rosebud Creek. They were owned by the Montana Power Co. until PPL bought them during deregulation in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Combined, the 11 dams have capacity to generate 633 megawatts of electricity, or as much as a large coal-fired power plant.
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