Power plant may be sold
GREAT FALLS – A Canadian company has made a tentative offer of $30 million for what remains of the mothballed power plant that NorthWestern Corp. was building here.
NorthWestern, which is undergoing bankruptcy reorganization, also has a possible agreement on what it might charge for electricity generated by the gas-fired plant.
But whether Montana consumers would end up buying that power is questionable. Any power from the plant would have to compete against more than 50 other offers to provide power for NorthWestern Energy’s 300,000 Montana customers in the coming years.
In documents filed recently with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, NorthWestern revealed it received a $30 million offer to buy components of the gas-fired plant, standing idle since May 2002. That is when state regulators refused to approve a contract selling plant power to NorthWestern Energy, for Montana consumers. Regulators indicated the power’s price was too high.
The $30 million offer includes two turbines and two generators already at the Great Falls site, as well as a steam generator in Houston, NorthWestern Corp. spokesman Roger Schrum said Friday. The potential buyer, an unnamed Canadian company, wants to review the deal before making a final offer.
If one is made, it would be filed with U.S. Bankruptcy Court for approval. Competing offers also could come before the court, Schrum said Friday.
“It’s our hope that the project would stay in Great Falls and be developed,” he said. “But that is clearly the decision of the Public Service Commission,” the state board that regulates utilities.
Regardless of whether someone buys the plant, questions remain about whether its power fired by natural gas would be a good deal for consumers. Prices for natural gas are relatively high, boosting the cost of power produced by gas-fired plants.
Great Falls, a member of an electric cooperative, plans to be a partner in construction of a proposed coal-fired power plant just east of the city.
NorthWestern has worked out a potential deal with the Montana Consumer Counsel on what the company would charge for power generated by the gas-fired plant. Consumer Counsel Bob Nelson said he cannot reveal terms until they are made final and filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.