- This event has passed.
Oppose PSE sale of their Colstrip Montana coal fired power plants.
October 8, 2020 @ 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Please sign up to speak at the hearing ASAP. Here are the instructions:
Public Hearing: The UTC will hold two virtual public comment sessions on October 8, 2020, to gather input from customers on the proposed sale of Colstrip. The first session begins at 1:30 p.m., and the second session begins at 6 p.m.
Please call 888-333-9882 to register and obtain instructions on how to participate.
Talking points for the hearing:
1. Selling Colstrip will allow Unit 4 (5+ million tons CO2/year = 1 million cars) to run until 2042 instead of 2025. NorthWestern plans to purchase and to run Colstrip Unit 4 until 2042. PSE’s sale is in direct conflict with Washington’s 100% clean electricity law, the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) which ends all coal based electricity by 2025.
2. PSE’s agreement to buy back Colstrip power from NorthWestern makes PSE customers pay a higher price. PSE will have to buy Colstrip power through 2025, even though other power choices are much cheaper.
3. Included in the sale are the extremely valuable Colstrip transmission lines between Montana and Seattle. PSE is selling these transmission lines well below market value despite PSE’s own study which shows that significant new transmission lines from Montana and Wyoming will be needed to supply wind power to replace Colstrip. New transmission lines will cost many times more than maintaining the existing Montana to Seattle transmission line. Under no circumstance should this ratepayer-owned transmission line be sold.
4.The proposed sale implies we will still pay for additional pollution even though we no longer own the plant. PSE set aside $350 million to clean up the Colstrip coal ash waste ponds. The sale opens up PSE ratepayers to more liability. The only way to avoid legal problems on these cleanup costs is to retire the plant in 2025 for all owners.
You can also submit comments directly to the UTC at this email address.
https://mailchi.mp/439c04267d09/vashon-climate-action-group-general-meeting-may-19th-1-to-245-pm-12572463?e=887abff6f3