Northwestern Energy is staffed, across the board, with hard working, intelligent, and caring people.  Keeping the lights on is an immensely complex endeavor, and they consistently deliver.  So why is it a monopoly and why is that a concern?

Because of the immense cost of grid infrastructure most utilities in the US are monopolies and are thus protected from competition and their customers can not choose a different provider.  But there is an important distinction:  Some of these monopolies are owned by their customers (co-ops), some are owned by local governments (publicly owned), and others are owned by investors.  NWE is an investor-owned monopoly.  The company is incorporated in Delaware and most of its owners live out of state.  The company is obligated by corporate law to act in the best interest of their investors -- not its customers.  The opposite is the case with co-ops and publicly owned utilities.  

In general, investor-owned utilities charge their customers more (and are less reliable).  While NWE is reliable, it charges us more than any other utility in the region.  

By focusing on profits instead of affordability for customers, the leadership at NWE is simply doing what our elected officials have set them up to do.  

To protect consumers from the abuse that would naturally come from a monopoly, our state legislature drafts laws to govern the monopoly, and our elected Public Service Commission (PSC) is supposed to make sure they follow these laws.  But Northwestern Energy is powerful.  In 2023 it reported almost 200 million in income.  They have a team of lobbyists that seem to exert considerable influence over both the legislature and PSC.  For example, the PSC has repeatedly “allowed” NWE to violate laws related to renewable energy, and the legislature has retroactively changed laws that NWE was fined for breaking.  

Even the PSC, which has typically sided with the utility, is concerned about NWE’s behavior.  PSC staff have written that the NWE has intentionally misled the public about renewable energy (Feb 23, 2024 PSC staff memo re Docket 2022.11.102).  PSC commissioners recently criticized NWE for withholding information about how the utility could use renewable energy tax credits to save consumers money.