Coal unit retirements addressed by Montana lawmakers

Colstrip plant closure legislation addresses coal power transitions at the 2,100 MW site, guiding decommissioning, tax revenue replacement, worker retraining, low-interest loans, and environmental cleanup as Talen Energy and Puget Sound Energy exit older units.

The 2,100 MW Colstrip power plant faces challenges familiar to coal-burners throughout the United States — competition from cheap natural gas and renewables combined with the increased costs of environmental upgrades and looming plant closures across the sector. 

Last year, Puget Sound and Talen announced, following moves like the Idaho Power settlement in the region, they would close the two oldest units at the plant that date back to the 1970s.

In Talen's case, that closure could come in about a year, stoking concerns among state lawmakers about the impact of lost tax revenue and jobs in the region. In response, a group of legislators this weekend unveiled the first in three bills aimed at keeping the old Colstrip units open until 2022, similar to decisions like Hydro One's coal plant plan for the foreseeable future.

The bill, would direct the power companies to design plans to deal with the costs of the unit shutdowns, reportedly including those associated with the physical unit as well as the loss of tax revenues, real estate values and the cost of worker retraining programs, issues that echo Three Mile Island debates in the nuclear sector. 

Subsequent measures are expected to target environmental cleanup plans and provide low-interest loans to keep the unit owned by Talen Energy open until 2022, even as jurisdictions like Alberta's coal phase-out move ahead of schedule. The loans would reportedly amount to $10 million a year from the state's $1 billion coal tax fund. 

SB 338, which would direct the decommissioning plans, is set for a Thursday hearing. The other bills have not yet been introduced. 

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