Consumer ire and political juices are flowing in Montana and Colorado, two northern Rockies states in which out-of-state interests own the major private-sector utilities, and all is not well in land of big skies and snow-capped peaks. Public power plays are being pursued in Montana as South Dakota-based NorthWestern assures that it will be out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a year’s time, and Colorado consumers want Minnesota-based Xcel Energy, its utility holding company, to have a third-party audit of its operations in the state.

The latest public debate about the reliability of Xcel’s Public Service Company of Colorado combination utility involves a major Denver-area call center run by California-based American President Line, which is threatening to move out of state with its 250 jobs because of five separate blackouts last year, taking out its facilities for an average of four to six hours. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is reviewing an improvement plan submitted by Xcel’s utility.

Although Xcel is resisting it, the Colorado state regulators are scheduled this spring to determine if Xcel needs a thorough audit of its utility operations in the state by a third-party auditor.

In Montana, NorthWestern Corp., whose NorthWestern Energy, is the state’s largest private sector electricity and natural gas utility, said it will meet the latest bankruptcy court deadline for filing its reorganization plan and expects to clear the Chapter 11 recovery process in a year’s time. The state’s chief regulator earlier in the week told local news media that he is optimistic about the company’s progress and that state regulatory officials and the company are in daily contact.

Nevertheless, a public ownership push is moving ahead in the state legislature and among the state’s six largest cities, despite the fact that in 2002 Montana voters overwhelming voted against the state taking over the hydro-electric dams in the state. Another proposed statewide ballot initiative is kicking around the legislature to create a state public power board to buy electricity and natural gas facilities.

The state senator promoting the initiative wants a complete legal review of the proposed measure first before he starts a signature-gathering drive to get the measure on the November ballot. He said it would vary with the dam initiative in that there would be no state condemnation power given to the new five-member part-time, governor-appointed board. Unlike an elected board proposed two years ago (I-145 on the ballot), this one is appointed and it would have the authority to buy hydro dams, coal-fired plants and electricity distribution/transmission lines and natural gas pipelines. The elected board was going to buy only dams.

With an auction in the NorthWestern bankruptcy proceeding being possible for both the natural gas and power lines, the state lawmakers and six cities that are part of the Montana League of Cities and Towns are coordinating among the half-dozen cities to prepare to make a bid for the utility infrastructure in the NorthWestern Chapter 11 proceedings.

The executive director of the cities’ league told local news media the project is difficult, but the cities are “enthusiastic” in wanting to pursue the utility assets for the public sector.

“Can we succeed? Who knows?,” said the league’s Alec Hansen, as quoted by local news media. “We won’t know if we don’t try. If the right set of circumstances develops in the bankruptcy that allows a possibility of Montana ownership, we want to be ready.”

In both states, as in other parts of the West, continuing high utility rates in the aftermath of the 2000-2001 wholesale energy market meltdown and a large spate of long weather-related outages this past winter have various consumer and political interest banging the public power drum.

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