HUNTLEY — Republican gubernatorial candidate Greg Gianforte met with a number of representatives of the energy industry in Huntley, on Monday, to gather input about how the Clean Power Plan will impact their respective organizations and businesses.
A group of about a dozen business and government officials held what was literally a roundtable discussion at the Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative (YVEC), where YVEC General Manager Brandon Wittman told Gianforte that his organization’s primary power provider, Basin Electric has said that compliance with the CPP is “impossible.” Basin Electric has told him, said Wittman, that it will cost their company, alone, $5.3 billion to comply with the federal regulations, which were announced in October by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
“The frustrating thing is,” said Wittman, “there is so much that has been done already, but it doesn’t count.” He said that while Basin Electric “has invested a lot in wind and natural gas,” they still rely on coal to produce about 56 to 60 percent of their energy. YVEC has established numerous programs offering incentives and support to customers wanting to pursue conservation and alternative energy options – “and none of it counts” in meeting the extreme carbon emission reductions that CPP is demanding of Montana.
Participants in the discussion, besides Wittman, were Gary Wiens of the Montana Electric Cooperatives’ Association; Tom Richmond, HD 56 Representative; Geraldine Custer, HD 39 Representative; Kirk Bushman, Montana Public Service Commissioner; Dave Kelsey, YVEC board member; Dave Anderson of Electrical Consultants, Inc., and others.
Accompanying Gianforte was his newly named running mate, Leslie Anderson, a Hi Line rancher and Phillips County Commissioner. He also introduced two young women from Colstrip who have launched a movement called “Colstrip United” which has generated much interest on Facebook and its website (www.colstrip-united.org). Ashley Dennehy and Lori Shaw urged support to save their community which faces a stark economic future if Colstrip Power Plants are closed so the state can comply with the Clean Power Plan.
Dennehy talked about what a wonderful place Colstrip is to live. She pointed out that because of the taxes paid by the coal power plants Colstrip has parks and amenities, and a “class A” school, that would be the envy of any community. “If all of Montana’s communities were like Colstrip,” she said, “millions and millions of people would want to live here.” She went on to say, “The average income in Colstrip is double that of any place else in the state.”
The power that is generated in Colstrip is so important to the state’s grid, that if it is lost, “Montana will not even register as a state,” she said, “You might as well call us an impoverished nation.”
Colstrip’s plight is so unnecessary, Dennehy explained, “The governor has on his desk a bill which could have solved the state’s compliance problem.” But Gov. Steve Bullock vetoed SB31, which would have allowed power generated by future hydroelectric projects to count towards the state’s renewable energy mandate for public utilities. He vetoed it not once, but twice, because the same bill passed the state Legislature in both of the last two sessions.
Kirk Bushman said that not only would the bill have eliminated Montana’s compliance issue, but it would have given the state more flexibility in dealing with states that do not want to accept energy generated from coal-fired plants. Bushman said Governor Bullock explained his veto saying that it would undercut the incentive to develop renewable projects.
Dave Kelsey said that the biggest concern faced by YVEC is that the closure of power plants will leave an unpaid debt that their customers will still have to pay, while at the same time paying for the development of new energy generation. That is in conflict with the YVEC’s mission of providing their membership with reliable and affordable energy, he said.
Wittman added that the EPA has done no study on the cost of implementing the CPP regulations, nor has anyone else, except for one national economic research company which at probably a conservative estimate, shows that every state will be impacted, somewhere in the range of increasing power bills by 21-22 percent.
Dennehy suggested to Gianforte that one way to improve state government is to staff regulatory agencies in a more fair way. She said that as it is, those who staff the agencies are “People who don’t like energy. We need people who like energy and appreciate where it comes from. We need people on our side of the fence, too.”
“They just need to be people with an open mind,” added Anderson.
Gianforte interjected that that is where leadership is needed. The agencies are staffed by “too many insiders who have adopted a culture of enforcement,” and with no real life experience. He said it should not take ten years to get a project permitted, and vowed he would change that as Governor.
“Environmental groups need to have accountability,” added Kelsey. “They need to have some skin in the game.” Kelsey said that the CPP has to be put on a “realistic timeframe. You can’t just wish things into happening. Some things are impossible to do in five years.”
Gianforte said that the CPP regulations are – as are a lot of recent regulations – “an overreaching of government.” He went on to say that the CPP is “a confiscation of property rights and a violation of our tenth amendment. We need leadership to stand up to the federal government” when it overreaches.
Wittman noted that the CPP, despite its enormous cost on taxpayers and consumers to implement, will not have any significant impact on carbon levels because, globally, the use of coal is projected to increase 65 percent – and even were the US “to completely quit using coal,” worldwide coal use would increase 55 percent. “The only solution is for the US to take the lead in making coal energy viable,” he said.
Gianforte agreed, saying, “American ingenuity solved the oil and natural gas problem, and we can solve it for coal.” He emphasized that Montana has the people with the knowledge and expertise, and the technology could be developed right here.
