Montana PSC head vows to kill power line project
Brad Molnar, a Republican from Laurel, says Montana customers will wind up buying power on the open market from states where it's more expensive to produce, such as California.
NorthWestern officials have said the $1 billion, 430-mile power line, which is still a half decade away from completion, at the earliest, is intended to ship power from new, renewable-energy projects, including wind farms.
This is just the latest setback for NorthWestern, which federal regulators have already slowed on concerns over how the company structured the deal and after a utility, PPL Montana, complained the project aims to gain a monopoly influence over transmission in the state.
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U.S. Electricity and natural gas prices explained
ALBANY - There are a lot of factors that affect the price of energy. What’s included in the price to heat homes and supply them with electricity may be a lot more than some people may think.
Electricity
Generating electricity is the largest component of its price, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Generation accounts for 56% of the price of electricity, while distribution and transmission account for 31% and 13% respectively.
Homeowners and businesses pay more for electricity than industrial companies. This is because industrial companies can take electricity at higher voltages, reducing transmission costs for energy companies.
“Industrial consumers…
