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Public Service Commissioner asks county for support to return Coal Strip energy to rate-based treatment
Summary
Brad Molnar, Public Service Commissioner District 2, asked the Lewis and Clark County Commission for a letter by April 30, 2026 urging that the Coal Strip production plant’s energy be returned to rate-based utility treatment from market-based, saying customers have among the lowest energy bills in the nation; no action was taken at the meeting.
During the public-comment period on April 21, 2026, Brad Molnar, Public Service Commissioner for District 2, addressed the Lewis and Clark County Board of Commissioners about utility-rate treatment for the Coal Strip production plant.
Molnar said rate-based utilities had been changed to market-based treatment for Coal Strip and that customers were considered recipients with some of the lowest energy bills in the nation. He requested that the commission send a letter of support urging a return to rate-based treatment; he said the deadline for such a letter is April 30, 2026. The transcript records his request but the commission did not record any formal action on the request during the meeting.
Why it matters: The distinction between rate-based and market-based utility treatment can affect who bears costs for generation and plant investments and can influence local utility rates; Molnar asked the county to support changing the treatment for Coal Strip.
No vote or commission direction to staff was recorded on the request during the meeting; the commission adjourned at 10:08 AM.
