BUTTE, Mont., March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- NorthWestern
Energy released the draft 2019 Montana Electricity Supply Resource
Procurement Plan for a 60-day public comment period. The plan will
be filed with the Montana Public Service Commission after the
public comment period ends.
Montana's energy landscape is
evolving, changing from a state that produces more electricity than
our citizens can use 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a
year, to a state where there is a growing risk there won't be
enough electricity to serve our citizens at critical times of peak
demand. A similar situation is occurring throughout the Pacific
Northwest – a key source for NorthWestern's market purchases.
"Reductions in regional and in-state thermal generation are
limiting the ability of Montana to
import and export energy," said John
Bushnell, manager energy supply and regulatory for
NorthWestern Energy. "To just assume the market will always be able
to provide customers with sufficient electricity at affordable
prices is a reckless approach that could have severe reliability
and cost consequences. As an example of this risk, the market
blew up on March 1, 2019 to nearly
$1,000 per MWh."
Currently, NorthWestern Energy's peak requirement for electric
energy in Montana is about 1,400
megawatts and we have to buy 645 megawatts on the market to meet
that peak demand. We forecast that by 2025, our electric energy
portfolio will be 725 megawatts of electricity short to meet peak
demand. The draft plan outlines how our Montana customers' energy needs will be met
with reliable energy at the lowest cost.
In order to have adequate energy supplies to meet peak load
requirement by 2025, NorthWestern Energy will solicit competitive
proposals from a variety of resources and use a staged approach,
adding 200 megawatts of capacity per year from 2022 to 2025.
NorthWestern Energy, through independent evaluators, will
consider all resources that can meet the electric portfolios'
needs, including renewable and thermal based generation, power
purchase agreements, and owned-energy resources comprised of
different structures, terms and technologies with the long-term
objective of a lowest cost, stable and reliable energy
portfolio.
"There is risk in not moving more quickly than what we propose,
but the benefits of a measured approach include taking advantage of
improving new technologies and changing costs," said NorthWestern
Energy President and CEO Bob Rowe.
"Over the next several years we will also be laying the foundation
to join the western United States
'energy imbalance market' which will allow us to operate our supply
resources more efficiently and may give renewable energy developers
in Montana greater access to
western markets."
NorthWestern's current portfolio of resources delivers 61
percent carbon-free energy to its Montana customers. Portfolios modeled in the
resource plan demonstrate that NorthWestern Energy can continue to
reduce yearly carbon emissions while planning for the capacity
needs of its customers.
The Montana Electricity Supply Resource Procurement Plan is
updated and filed every two years with the Montana Public Service
Commission. Visit www.northwesternenergy.com to view the draft
plan, submit comments, learn more about simple and effective ways
to make your home more energy efficient, and about various bill
payment and assistance options.
Follow us on Facebook or on Twitter (@NWEinfo).
About NorthWestern Energy (NYSE: NWE)
NorthWestern
provides electricity and / or natural gas to approximately 726,400
customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. We have generated and distributed
electricity in South Dakota and
distributed natural gas in South
Dakota and Nebraska since
1923 and have generated and distributed electricity and distributed
natural gas in Montana since 2002.
More information on NorthWestern is available on the company's
website at www.northwesternenergy.com.
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SOURCE NorthWestern Corporation