Article published Sep 5, 2007

Missoula mayor explains pulling plug on ECP deal

By JOHN ENGEN

About four weeks ago, I asked the Missoula City Council to support a letter of intent to enter into an agreement with Electric City Power, a nonprofit corporation created by the city of Great Falls. That agreement would have allowed the city of Missoula to purchase electricity from Electric City Power at a discount estimated at between 10 and 15 percent.

Last week, upon my recommendation, the Missoula City Council agreed to withdraw that letter of intent.

I endorsed the idea initially for reasons that I still believe are sound. Ideally under the agreement, the city of Missoula would:

Save about $70,000 each year. That's $700,000 over a decade and much more over time.

Support the concepts of public power, local choice and alternative energy.

Support the city of Great Falls, a Montana community that is demonstrating leadership on the front lines of complicated, contentious energy policy in a state that's not been well-served by deregulation.

And I recommended that we reject the idea because of the Highwood Generating Station.

As mayor of the city of Missoula, I have to confess to spending most of my time paying attention to what's happening in and around the 25-odd square miles we call home. But in recent weeks, I've been learning the details of the Highwood project.

The more I've learned, the less I've found to support. I had assumed that the dust had long settled on any controversy, the plant was in the works and its product would be a welcome addition to the energy mix in Montana. I had also assumed it would burn cleaner than the old coal plants upon which we rely, provide good jobs for Montanans and reduce electric bills for customers around the state.

Those assumptions were, and are, incorrect. The controversy's far from over, environmental concerns abound, financial questions linger and there's just no time to adequately address those concerns and answer those questions. I don't want the city of Missoula in the middle of it.

The costs are too dear, we have too much work to do and I'm not interested in wasting more time on an issue where there's no room left for building consensus and pursuing compromise.

Over the last few weeks, my e-mailbox has been overflowing with notes from folks expressing outrage or concern, all questioning the wisdom of hitching our wagon to Electric City and, eventually perhaps, Highwood. Some are thoughtful, some not. I've had worried calls and visits from state legislators and I've studied public testimony from citizens. One radio commentary went so far as to suggest that I'm somehow embarrassed by Missoula's reputation as a community respectful of its environment.

That's hogwash; I love my hometown, our community, our passion and our place. But the commentator made a point that was dead on: If someone proposed a coal-fired power plant in Missoula, we'd rise in opposition. And I'd be leading the pack. I suspect some folks in and around Great Falls feel the same way.

I respect and appreciate all of that concern and the many questions. But now that Missoula's passed on this project, I need help with a few of my own questions:

Energy costs for the city of Missoula, its residents and its businesses are high and unpredictable. I think the Montana Legislature is trying to help with that through regulatory mechanisms such as House Bill 25, which locks "large" customers, including the city of Missoula, into NorthWestern Energy's customer base unless that customer opts out by Oct. 1.

Is the Legislature "reregulating" energy in Montana, and, if so, would its leaders consider spending some time with cities and other customers, large and small, to help us understand its intention? NorthWestern, after all, was for sale earlier this year and nearly purchased by an Australian financial company.

The folks who serve NorthWestern's customers on the ground throughout Montana are good, hard-working folks, but some of us are a bit skeptical based on the company's board and shareholders' recent actions.

Public utilities have a long record of success throughout the country. If the Legislature is interested in restoring a regulated monopoly electric utility in the state, would it consider supporting a public utility as much as a private, investor-owned operation?

Where and how can we purchase clean, green, affordable energy for our cities, homes and businesses? Research suggests that a majority of our electricity comes from old coal plants and some dams.

Montana has serious energy challenges. In Missoula, as in other parts of the state, we need to understand our limited energy options and make real efforts to deliver the best products and services we can to our citizens. We're going to need to ask some questions, talk with each other, take some risks and, for better or worse, make some mistakes along the way if we're going to face those challenges effectively.

I'm going to look at this as an opportunity for our entire community, and state, to roll up our sleeves and dig in to this issue.

We know we want clean energy. Now let's figure out how to do our part to make it happen.