Great Falls wants to get out of power business

Electric City Power divestment signals Great Falls' exit from a loss-making municipal utility, exploring a portfolio sale to NorthWestern Energy amid expiring customer contracts, a 2048 power purchase agreement, and a natural gas plant investment.

The City of Great Falls wants to get out of the power business and is asking NorthWestern Energy if it would be interested in acquiring the city's customers.

Electric City Power has been selling power to fewer than 20 business, government and nonprofit customers at a loss since 2004. Contracts with customers run out next year and, in comparable cases, utilities have asked customers to absorb costs as losses have exceeded $5 million.

City Manager Greg Doyon wrote to NorthWestern CEO Bob Rowe, whose company announced a Montana-Idaho transmission line project, asking if the company might be interested in Electric City Power's portfolio.

In the letter, Doyon explained that city commissioners have directed him to explore ways to get the city out of the energy business amid an ongoing public vs. private utilities debate in the region.

"It's kind of opening the door to a discussion," Doyon said.

NorthWestern spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch told the Great Falls Tribune she expects the company's management team to answer the city this week.

"We've received the letter and we're giving it some consideration," Rapkoch said.

If NorthWestern is interested, the parties would hold further discussions, she said.

Great Falls Mayor Michael Winters said that the city is looking at eventually ending its involvement in the electric power business even as a judge denied a restraining order in the SME case earlier.

Electric City Power has a contract to buy power from Southern Montana Electric Cooperative through 2048, a contract that was used as collateral for Southern Montana to obtain a loan to finance a natural gas-fired power plant being built east of Great Falls. The city has invested about $1 million in the plant, even as it moved to leave the co-op backing the build.

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