Great Falls to leave co-op building plant
The Great Falls Tribune reports the city sent a letter to the Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative requesting "to be relieved of any and all obligations that exist with Southern." Electric City Power, the city's utility arm, hopes to reach an agreement by March 18 and avoid litigation.
City attorney James Santoro says SME has closed portions of its board meetings and won't let the city see a contract that would help it set appropriate rates for its customers. ECP has lost money for years.
The largest member of the six-member co-op, Yellowstone Valley Electric, has filed a lawsuit to leave SME.
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Power grab: 5 arrested after Hydro-Québec busts electricity theft ring
MONTREAL - Five people have been arrested in connection with an electricity theft ring alleged to have operated for five years.
The thefts were allegedly committed by the owners of rental properties who used stolen personal information to create accounts with Hydro-Québec.
The utility alleges that between 2014 and 2019, Mario Brousseau, Simon Brousseau-Ouellette and their accomplices defrauded Hydro-Québec of up to $300,000 worth of electricity. It was impossible for Hydro-Québec’s customer service section to detect the fraud because the information on the accounts, while stolen, was also genuine.
The suspects are expected to face 25 counts of fraud, conspiracy and identity theft.
Hydro-Québec…
