Gianforte Moves to Protect Montana Electric Cooperatives, Consumers

Press Release

Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte addressed the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday to support legislation that brings certainty to Montana electric cooperatives and ratepayers. The bill, which Gianforte sponsored, later passed the House.

"[This bill] will bring certainty to the management of the Federal Columbia River Power System. For generations, the system has provided thousands of Montanans with clean, low-cost energy," Gianforte said. "Compliance with environmental mandates and litigation, however, threaten our way of life."

"As a cosponsor of this bipartisan bill, I urge my colleagues to bring some relief to Montana ratepayers and pass H.R. 3144," Gianforte concluded.

The bill, H.R. 3144, provides greater certainty for the Federal Columbia River Power System by keeping in place the current bipartisan operations plan and salmon mitigation measures that are consistent with multiple agency processes and opinions, which were developed and approved by the Obama administration.

Using the Endangered Species Act beyond its intended purpose, environmental organizations have been engaged in ongoing lawsuits against the federal government as part of their effort to shut down hydropower dams in the Northwest.

The result of the ongoing litigation is greater uncertainty for hydropower operators as well as higher costs for Montana's electric cooperatives and ratepayers.

A court-ordered spill proceeded earlier this month after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal. Spill is the amount of water that goes over the dam instead through the turbines to produce electricity, leading to a lower supply of power. When spills occur, power must be purchased from other sources, driving up the cost to ratepayers.

With the court-mandated spill estimated to cost $40 million per year, approximately 130,000 Bonneville Power Administration ratepayers in Montana, including more than 50,000 people in the Flathead Valley, will pay a nearly 5 percent share of the costs of this spill.

The legislation is important to Montana given hydropower's critical role in powering the state. Hydropower accounts for more than one-third of electricity generation in Montana.

The bipartisan measure passed the U.S. House of Representatives 225-189, and will go to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Source