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Montana PSC pauses public hearing, moves to confidential session over protected documents in Northwestern–Black Hills docket
Summary
After public comment, the commission said questioning would touch protected material and ordered a confidential session; counsel disputed the scope of omnibus protective orders and parties flagged a late May 11 data response and a confidential index of tabs c1–c27.
HELENA, Mont. — After hearing public comment on the proposed Northwestern–Black Hills Energy merger, the Montana Public Service Commission paused the open hearing and moved into a closed, confidential session to allow questioning on documents and testimony marked protected by the parties.
Commission Vice President Jennifer Fielder said the portion of witness questioning “concerned a subject of protected interest” and that it “clearly exceeds the merits of public disclosure,” ordering that segment closed to anyone who had not filed and signed the commission’s nondisclosure agreement. She instructed press and members of the public to leave or to have their feeds paused while the confidential Zoom meeting proceeded.
Counsel for intervenors (identified in the record as representing 350 Montana and the Montana Farmers Union) objected to omnibus protective orders and said their position is that “none of this information should be protected.” That counsel also said they had prepared a confidential index containing tabs c1–c27 with excerpts of data-request responses they intend to use during confidential questioning.
Counsel for the joint applicants said several protective orders have been issued in the docket (Protective Order Nos. 8043a–f) and that particular categories of information—banker presentations, valuation materials, executive-pay agreements and employment data—are covered by those orders. Earlier in the morning, parties and the commission discussed a Northwestern Energy data response dated May 11 that arrived after the scheduled procedural deadline; counsel said the May 11 filing included multiple attachments and that staff had made copies available to the commissioners.
Fielder recessed the public record for a five-minute break to reset for the confidential portion and said the hearing would resume in public once the closed session concluded.
Why it matters: The scope of protective orders and the timing of discovery filings can shape what the public can see in a high-profile merger proceeding and affect the commission’s ability to evaluate claims about proposed projects, costs and executive compensation.
What’s next: The hearing record shows the commission reconvened in confidential session for the limited questioning; the public livestream and on-site seating were paused for that segment and the commission planned to return to public session after the confidential examination.
