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Missoula, county and Northwestern Energy file green power program; staff say it would move city 10% toward 2030 clean-grid goal
Summary
City and county staff and Northwestern Energy presented a voluntary Green Power Program (GPP) filed with the Montana Public Service Commission; staff said early estimates would bring Missoula roughly 10% closer to its 100% clean electricity goal and emphasized the tariff is a customer option, not a tax.
City and county officials, together with Northwestern Energy, told a joint presentation that they have filed a voluntary Green Power Program with the Montana Public Service Commission that would allow customers to subscribe to renewable energy through a special tariff.
Anne Geiger, the city’s strategic initiatives manager, said early calculations show the GPP "would bring the Missoula community 10% closer to our goal" of 100% clean electricity, while Northwestern Energy framed the program as a customer-option approach developed over several years. Charlie Lane of Northwestern Energy described the program as focused on "customer options" and a long process to produce a workable tariff.
Shannon Anderson, an energy specialist, emphasized consumer protections: "It is not a tax," she said, and clarified the program is structured so costs and benefits are "firewalled within the tariff" to avoid impacting customers who do not opt in. Public commenters, including Judy Mattson of Bonner and Lee Caker of Families for a Livable Climate, voiced support for the program as a practical step toward the community’s 2030 clean-energy target.
Officials said the filing with the Montana Public Service Commission is the next formal step; staff and presenters emphasized the program is voluntary for customers and that further regulatory review and PSC approval will determine implementation details and timing.
