Missoula city and county approve lead community agreement to pursue Green Power Program

Missoula City Council and the Missoula County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously July 27 to authorize lead community agreements with Northwestern Energy to advance a Green Power Program (GPP) that would allow Northwestern customers to voluntarily subscribe to energy from a newly developed renewable resource in Montana.

City staff described the agreement as the step that allows the city and county to join Northwestern in filing the tariff and program design with the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC). Anne Geiger, who supervises the city’s climate and sustainability team, told the council the LCA commits the local governments and the utility to jointly manage an RFP and pursue a new utility‑scale resource selected to serve the GPP. "The LCA outlines the roles and responsibilities of each lead community and Northwestern to work together to bring the GPP to the Public Service Commission," Geiger said during the presentation.

The program described by staff would be sized at up to 50 megawatts, selected through a competitive RFP process, and structured so subscribers pay for the resource through a tariff while receiving bill credits for the market value of the energy they subscribe to. Charlie Lane, director of regulatory affairs at Northwestern Energy, called the vote "a significant milestone, but the beginning of of more regulatory process." Staff materials attached to the LCA show nonbinding notices of interest with expected load commitments of 25,900,000 and 5,200,000 annual kilowatt‑hours (figures shown in presentation slides).

Staff emphasized the program is voluntary and designed to "firewall" costs and benefits inside the tariff so non‑participants are not affected. Early modeling, staff said, left pricing uncertain—ranging from a small bill increase to a small decrease for subscribers—because ultimate costs depend on RFP results and changing tax credits and market conditions. Staff said they expect to file the GPP with the PSC on or before Sept. 15, 2026 (subject to change), run an RFP process in late 2027, and likely return to elected officials before any city or county subscription commitments are finalized (potentially in 2028).

Councilor Krask moved the city motion to authorize the mayor to sign the LCA; the motion passed in a unanimous roll call. At the county, Dave Stromer moved to authorize the county chair to sign the LCA, the motion was seconded, and the Board of County Commissioners approved it by unanimous voice vote. Mayor Davis and county commissioners thanked staff and community partners for the multiple years of work that led to the joint filing.

What’s next: staff will continue outreach and recruitment of potential subscribers, finalize the PSC filing and tariff, and return to elected officials before any formal subscription or financial commitments are locked in.