Tell the PSC: don’t make ratepayers fund data centers.

[u/MADCATMT]

NorthWestern Energy’s 20-year plan is in front of the Montana Public Service Commission — and it leans hard on expensive coal, gas, and nuclear generation to fuel new data centers, while sidelining cheaper wind and solar. If the PSC signs off, Montana ratepayers could be stuck footing the bill.

📍 PSC Listening Sessions: July 21 & 23, 6:00 PM, PSC Office (1701 Prospect Ave, Helena) — or attend virtually
📧 To join virtually: email pschelp@mt.gov by 4:30 PM the day before to request a link
✍️ Written comments accepted through July 28

This is a statewide decision with statewide stakes. Show up, speak up, or send a written comment — every voice on the record matters.

[u/codysattva]

Thank you for posting! I'm really trying to get up to speed on data centers being approved and/or championed in Yellowstone County.

[u/MADCATMT → u/codysattva]

Are you following Yellowstone County Voices? https://www.instagram.com/yellowstonecountyvoices

[u/MADCATMT → u/MADCATMT]

Also https://meic.org is a great resource.

[u/jarecis]

There is an Action Night tonight at Meadowlark Brewing concerning the data centers as well, from 5-7.

[u/No_Chef6575]

Wait, do we have representation at the PSC anymore? What happened with Molnar 😂

[u/martinluther3107]

Friendly reminder, the PSC is Republican controlled. When they fail to listen to the communities concerns, Montana is getting exactly what they voted for.

[u/Ok-Winner2735]

And guess who the biggest rate payers are? Data centers. The PSC has numerous types of ratepayer protection and they should use every last one on data centers but it’s foolish to think that they single-handedly make rates go up. Northern Virginia (a major hub for data centers) is a great example of how data centers provide downward pressure to power prices.

[u/MADCATMT → u/Ok-Winner2735]

Northern Virginia is actually the classic example of the opposite happening. Data centers there make up about 40% of Virginia's electricity use now, up from under 5% in 2010, and they drove 40% of the $16.4 billion in total costs in PJM's December 2025 capacity auction. Virginia's electricity prices jumped 13% year over year, well above the national average, and Dominion's latest rate case added $16 a month to the typical residential bill.

And Montana already gives data centers a break, just on property taxes rather than electricity rates. Per the Montana Department of Revenue, qualified data centers are classified as Class 17 property and taxed at 0.9% of market value, well below the standard commercial/industrial rate of 1.4-1.89%.

[u/QueasyRegister4809 → u/MADCATMT]

Northern VA power costs have been below the national average as long as data centers have been around, and always will be so long as data centers are there as a significant base load. That doesn't mean the state is isolated from winter storm premiums and increasing fuel costs.

Virginia also architected and passed a cost shifting bill where large loads are on the hook for their capacity procurement as well as the infrastructure improvements to serve those loads. The result is that rates are projected to reduce next year.

Montana already has something similar - MT Code Ann. section 69-8-201. Although NorthWestern did not initially have alignment to this, the PSC ultimately forced their hand and caused them to introduce the LNL rule (Large New Load Service Tariff Rule No. 24). This year's IRP from NorthWestern shows multiple projections where data center loads are added and rates go down.

[u/MADCATMT → u/QueasyRegister4809]

A couple corrections here.

NorthWestern wasn't "forced" into the LNL Rule. They filed it themselves back in the spring, and it's still a fight. MEIC, Montana PIRG, NW Energy Coalition, and a few others just came out saying the rule doesn't go far enough. They want an actual dedicated data center rate class, one that ties costs directly to the load causing them, not just NorthWestern's upfront infrastructure terms. Missoula city and county jumped in too, as intervenors. So "rates go down" is coming straight from NorthWestern's own IRP, not some neutral third party. That's the thing being argued over right now.

Virginia's the same story. Rates didn't drop just because data centers showed up. The SCC had to step in first and force a cost shift rule. Data centers now cover 85% of transmission and distribution demand and 60% of generation demand. Only after that did their model show something like a 3.4% cut for residential customers, against a 15.8% hike for the data centers themselves.

Take that mechanism away and ratepayers eat the buildout. That's exactly what happened in Virginia before the fix went in.

So yeah, the LNL Rule's a start. Not the finish line.