NorthWestern Power Bills Will Tick Up

By Keila Szpaller, Daily Montanan

July 5, 2021

The next power bill residential customers will get from NorthWestern Energy will be up $2.28 on average with an interim adjustment the Montana Public Service Commission approved this week.

The 2.54 percent bump took effect July 1 and represents an increase in energy market prices, the “base” power that NorthWestern pays, said spokesperson Jo Dee Black.

Residential customers on average pay $89.69 a month, and they’ll pay $91.96 on average after the increase, according to NorthWestern. Black said there’s concern about the volatility of the market, so adjusting rates in an ongoing way can prevent big increases.

“You want rates to be as low as possible, but you also want them to be stable,” Black said.

Lucas Hamilton, staff attorney for the Public Service Commission, said the Montana Consumer Counsel still will weigh in on any permanent increase. He said the Commission will set deadlines next week.

“It will be a few months, I imagine, before the PCCAM base application is fully and finally decided,” Hamilton said in an email of the Power Costs and Credits Adjustment Mechanism.

Black said the review of base costs takes place every year, and it’s separate from any reviews of NorthWestern’s electric delivery rate. Base costs include items such as fuel and energy the utility buys on the market.

“The annual electric true-up of the year’s actual variable costs will then determine if customer rates increase if the supply rate did not cover the costs or decrease if the supply rate collected more than the costs,” Black said in an email. “The Montana Public Service Commission is the authority in this decision.”

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