Op-Ed: PSC puts the burden on Montanans while letting out-of-state corporations off the hook

Montana’s Public Service Commission (PSC) is under renewed scrutiny following a deal negotiated by NorthWestern Energy that all but assures Montana residents will face drastically higher energy rates.

The 100% Republican-controlled PSC completed a review period in which the public was able to comment; now the commission is planning to approve new rates that increase costs to consumers by 28% for Montanans, 25% for small businesses, and only 15% for giant box stores owned by out-of-state corporations, and 15% for government buildings.

Why the GOP seems bound and determined to place the majority of the burden on Montana’s citizens remains a mystery. Approving a rate higher than the 25% increase NorthWestern initially requested, while NorthWestern’s rates are significantly lower than when they made the request, is unconscionable.

This lousy deal primarily results from a terrible system that doesn’t allow room for private competition to NorthWestern’s monopoly and rewards the Republican Commissioners by paying them a six-figure income for a one-day-a-week job.

It’s a corrupt and anti-competitive model of determining power rates.

The PSC should elect powerful advocates who prioritize the financial well-being of Montanans and ensure the long-term success of private industries.

There is a subservient relationship between the commissioners and NorthWestern Energy, the state’s largest monopoly utility, allowing NorthWestern Energy to make bad investments, which Montanans then have to bail out.

Recently, NorthWestern Energy blew through its proposed budget to build a natural gas plant created to save customers money.

Instead, it costs ratepayers an additional $5 a month, and the project is on hold.

Now, NorthWestern Energy is shifting resources into coal, adversely impacted by natural gas. It’s costing Montana ratepayers hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars more each year. NorthWestern invests in assets that ensure Montanans have to pay more no matter which of the investments succeeds.

Exacerbating this problem is the excessive salary PSC Commissioners earn. $112,000 annually for a part-time job is obscene and a misuse of taxpayer dollars. The salary needs to be reduced.

We need candidates more focused on Montana ratepayers than the bank accounts of NorthWestern Energy executives and themselves. Dropping the salary under six figures will make it less appealing for candidates who don’t have the best interests of Montanans in mind.

Electing the commissioners in a partisan manner creates additional problems. Commissioners should be chosen based on qualifications, not political affiliations. The commission is becoming a retirement home for Helena career politicians looking to make an easy buck.

The partisan primary process leads to the election of grossly unqualified politicians, who have more influence on inflation in Montana than the President of the United States. This has to change if we’re going to have a commission representative of the interests of Montanans.

Predictably, officials earning $112,000 a year for a-day-per-week’s work rubber-stamping NorthWestern Energy rate hikes will fight to retain the existing arrangement.

Montana’s real estate, fuel prices, groceries, and more are among the most expensive in the nation. We do not need the PSC hiking our exorbitant rates into the stratosphere. Less than 30 years ago, Montana had some of the most affordable energy prices in the United States, and now we have the most expensive.

The PSC has to change.