PRESS RELEASE BY SENATOR BRAD MOLNAR

DARK MONEY GROUPS SPEND $200,OOO TO UNSEAT COMMISSIONER FIELDER AND ELECT A

“CLIMATE CHAMPION”.

THEY HAVE $300,000 IN RESERVE FOR THE LAST WEEK

Two month old dark money group, Montana Ratepayers Association, raised $495,000 from two
donors to defeat PSC Vice President Jennifer Fielder. Their stated goal is to oppose
Commissioner Fielder and support her opponent, “Independent” Elena Evans.

Senator Molnar clarifies that his involvement is not to support Fielder as she has prevailed over
insurmountable odds before and it is her campaign, not his. Rather, if commissioners have to
factor in that if they do not vote as the Climate Action Cabinet desires, a $500,000 “money ball”
awaits; families and employers will suffer. And, such intimidation will place a chill on prospective PSC candidates.

Molnar continues, “We do not know the donors motives in funding the Montana Ratepayers
Association but plainly it is not open/fair elections or consumer protection. To have a
commissioner that can sit in on closed meetings discussing litigation in response to
Environmental NGO law suits (most law suits against the PSC are) would be priceless. And they
would have a tax payer funded bully pulpit to legitimize their message.

See for yourself. Google Mt CoPP, click on Montana Commission of Political Practices. Should
open to Commisoner of Political Practices page with pic of capital rotunda. Scroll down and click
on ACCESS CERS. Click on Search – Committee. Enter Committee Name Montana Ratepayers
Association. Election year 2024 and Committee Type INDEPENDENT, click by Montana
Ratepayers Association click on View Registration and View Finance Reports, Click on date desired then on view report.

Elena Evans says that she is neither an environmental or a partisan candidate. Rather she claims
to be “just a Mom having a hard time paying her utility bills”. To check out her financials do the
same as above but click on Search Candidate instead of search committee.

According to the reports she spent $24,000 without any donations. Somehow she gathered
5000 signatures without any expenditure. So who paid for same? Where is the report? How
was there not illegal coordination with the Independent committee which at that time did not
exist? How was this done before she was even a candidate? How is it that an Independent
candidate received $1000 from a Democrat Central Committee?

In total, candidate Evans received funds from one man in Tennessee, one union (MFPE), and
the above Central Committee totaling less than $2000 yet attracted the attention of a $500,000
money bomb that received tens of thousands of dollars in donated services. The donors could
get total control of the PSC, thus funding for their donors, through higher rates from rate
payers. In this scenario $500,000 is peanuts.
While others are implicated without knowing the names of other dark money groups acting in
unison they are impossible to track, even if they did register with CoPP.

This is the function of the press and perhaps the courts.
Molnar concludes, “They may turn their guns on me in retribution. So be it. Or perhaps they will
just go back under their rock to resurface re-named. Or they may win.

 

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Basin Electric Power Cooperative utilizes an all-of-the-above energy strategy to reliably serve our 140 member cooperatives in nine states. Because Basin Electric serves areas of rural America that endure extreme temperatures and other variabilities, reliability is critical for commerce and basic survival. 

 

While staff is still analyzing the recent EPA finalized rules and is evaluating what this means for the cooperative and our membership, we can already determine the regulation attempts to force utilities into a decision to either install unproven technology on an unrealistic timeline that relies on infrastructure that is not yet available, or prematurely retire power generation facilities. Either option presents a threat to the affordable and reliable electric generation that Basin Electric guarantees its members have and that they continue to invest in.

 

Basin Electric has been a leader in decarbonization of the energy industry. Since 2005, Basin Electric has achieved more than a 30 percent decrease in its carbon intensity and is a participant in one of the world’s largest carbon sequestration

projects – removing 44 million metric tons of CO 2  since 2000. 

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Basin Electric is proud of the work that its members have put into reducing its carbon footprint, and the cooperative continues to pursue additional reductions through diversification of its generation portfolio and investment in technologies such as carbon capture. The EPA’s recently finalized rules violate the EPA’s legal authority under the Clean Air Act and ignore technological reality. Basin Electric looks forward to continuing to work with state and local governments and the EPA to encourage the reconsideration of the final rule and development of a balanced and reasonable final rule that cannot jeopardize affordability and reliability. 

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These regulations attempt to force utilities into a decision to either install unproven technology on an unrealistic timeline that relies on infrastructure that is not yet available, or prematurely retire power generation facilities. Either option presents a threat to the affordable and reliable electric generation that Basin Electric guarantees its members have and that they continue to invest in. 

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Key message:
Reliability is critical for our membership. The EPA should not force Basin Electric to install unproven technology or prematurely retire power generation facilities on an unrealistic timeline. This approach presents a threat to the affordable and reliable power our members expect and rely upon.
Jean Schafer
Senior Legislative Representative
Basin Electric Power Cooperative
Office of General Counsel, Government Relations
1717 E Interstate Avenue  |  Bismarck, ND  58503
Direct: 701.557.5415  |  Cell: 701.400.5814

 

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Last week the big news was the record setting -22 degrees. Many used the event for cliché laden debates on “climate change”. A one time event does not indicate climate change or causation. Global trends are not established by the record high or low temperatures in Laurel, Mt. For real fun try calmly discussing the facts and the implications of those facts. 

CONTINUE READING ~

The dance between high and low pressure areas, which caused the cold spell, was not the impetus of this discussion. Rather, it was a Facebbook post by PSC President Jim Brown. On January 13th Jim posted “If you are a NorthWestern energy customer, as of 6:30 am this morning, here is where the power that is keeping you warm, at present, is being generated...hydro 202 MW, thermal 292 MW, wind 0 MW, solar 0 MW." To put a fine point on it, if NWE were more reliant on “renewable energy”and less blessed with thermal energy fuel/generation, every pipe in their Montana service area would have frozen. People and livestock would have perished. A graph published by NWE augments President Brown’s concern. (link to graph- perhaps publish in the e-version of the paper).    
The “soft cap” on market based energy purchases is $1000 per megawatt hour. NWE customer’s normal cost of rate based and contracted energy is $70 per megawatt hour.
At my recent Energy and Telecom Interim Committee response to the record setting cold was the main focus. NorthWestern Energy and our Public Service Commission presented the process and numbers required to provide the power that heated our homes and businesses. Environmental groups challenged that over reliance on natural gas to heat homes and generate electricity was a mistake because there are issues with supply and pipeline capacity. They inferred that building more pipelines and gas storage was a non-starter with them. And they pointed out that during the cold snap renewable energy over performed on several days of the cold snap. All true.
“Renewable” usually means that the energy is intermittent. Too hot or too cold and the wind is a no-show. Too cloudy, or dark, and solar is a no-show when it is needed most. Reliability is never part of the contract.
A letter from the SD Public Utilities Commission to the head of Excel Energy asking them not to follow the national trend by closing down coal plants and replacing them with renewable generation spawned spirited discussion. They pointed out that such closures could cause blackouts even during normal weather patterns. Link to letter here SD PUC Excel Energy Letter  and/or put in the e-version 
The corporate impetus is that there are massive tax breaks for building renewable projects and major legal hurdles put in the way of even the maintenance of “fossil fuel” generation or procurement of fuel. 
Witness the recent decision of Judge Seeley in the “climate kids” case AKA Held v State of Montana. Though an identical suit was dismissed by the 9th Circuit the juvenile plaintiffs argued that fossil fuels interfered with their right to a healthful environment and that renewable resources are available and viable. One plaintiff testified that climate change caused his feet to feel hot during soccer practice on turf. The Mt. Supreme Court has ruled that Seeley’s ruling is enforceable until their final ruling. The federal court ruled this issue is best handled by the legislative and executive branches of government.
The most recent concern is a discussion on a plan to breech four hydro-electric dams on the Lower Snake River because several Indian tribes claimed the dams resulted in lower catches of salmon. The four dams produce 3000 MW of electricity at full pool and 1000 MW at low pool. The dams all have fish ladders that allow 90% of the salmon to migrate and spawn. If breeched the generation would be replaced by wind generation (more on this in a later column). Given the same cold snap as Montana just experienced that would be zero generation affecting 100,000 Montana co-op members 
Perhaps Attorney General Austin Knudson should have pointed out to Judge Seeley that the right to a healthful environment includes the right to not die in the cold and dark. This is also stated in the next sentence fragment of Art 2 Sec 3 of the Mt Constitution; “the right of pursuing life's basic necessities”, At -22 degrees heat is a basic necessity. 
Senator Brad Molnar – Member Montana Senate Energy and Interim Energy committee.  Former Mt PSC vice-chairman 406-794-5982