Understanding Energy in Montana - 2018

Federal & State Resources / State Resources

Members of the Department of Environmental Quality of the State of Montana reported in early 2018 that Montana energy issues continue on a dynamic course of change, garnering significant public scrutiny in the state. In the more than 20 years since the decision to deregulate Montana’s electricity supply, consumers have witnessed the bankruptcy and reemergence of North-Western Energy (NWE), the Baaken Shale boom, growth in renewable energy resources, a changing coal industry, changing electric generation portfolios, and heightened discussion of climate change’s effect on the environment.

The Environmental Quality Council first prepared this guide in 2002. It was revised in 2004, 2010, and 2014. The Energy and Telecommunications
Interim Committee (ETIC) in 2017 agreed to again revise the guide to provide the most up-todate background information available to the policymakers and citizens of Montana. The 2017- 2018 guide includes a restructured electricity section to better reflect the current nature of electricity generation in the state.

Special thanks should be extended to the DEQ, particularly Jeff Blend, Dan Lloyd, and the section authors listed at the front of this guide. Their work in
preparing information and compiling statistics was integral to the publishing of this document. The guide focuses on recent and historical trends in energy supply and demand. It is divided into five sections:

• The first is an overview of electricity supply and demand in Montana. The section is further divided into chapters concerning each of the generating resources in the state.
  
  
• The second section details the electric transmission grid, how it works and the future of
  transmission capacity in the state.
  
  
• A third section addresses natural gas supply and demand.
  
  
• The fourth section covers the coal industry in Montana, detailing the mining history of the state and the future of coal in Montana.
• The final section of the book addresses the state’s petroleum production and refining industry in the state.

The revised guide provides readers both historical and current perspective on the energy sector in Montana. Emerging resources like distributed generation and energy efficiency programs are discussed along with conventional generation in an effort to provide a holistic look at the changing industry.

[For an update on this report, see: https://deq.mt.gov/energy/index]