Judge denies restraining order in SME case
SME asked the court to prevent the utility arm of the city of Great Falls from delaying payments for power or ending contracts with its customers that could cause SME to lose its customer base.
The Great Falls Tribune reports District Judge Kenneth Neill denied the restraining order, but ordered a June 1 hearing on the same issues. Neill said the city has continued to pay SME and the contracts at issue won't expire until June 30.
The city filed a lawsuit in March seeking to end its relationship with SME and the return of a $792,000 deposit.
Related News

Germany's Energy Crisis Deepens as Local Utilities Cry for Help
BERLIN - Germany’s fears that soaring power and gas prices could trigger a deeper crisis is starting to get real.
Several hundred local utilities are coming under strain and need support, according to the head of Germany’s largest energy lobby group. The companies, generally owned by municipalities, supply households and small businesses directly and are a key part of the country’s power and gas network.
“The next step from the government and federal states must be to secure liquidity for these municipal companies,” Kerstin Andreae, chairwoman of the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, told Bloomberg in Berlin. “Prices are rising,…