NorthWestern studies wind power

NorthWestern Energy is undertaking studies to look at wind power and conservation and will solicit bids for wind power as part of its effort to improve its portfolio to provide electricity to 295,000 Montana consumers.

From The Standard State Bureau

NorthWestern, which bought Montana Power Co.’s utility business in January, is launching an engineering analysis to measure the potential impact of wind power on the reliability of the company’s electric system in Montana. It will examine the feasibility of adding wind power to the company’s exist ing portfolio of power supply contracts and guide the com pany as it issues a request for proposals or bid solicitation for wind generation next month.

In addition, the company announced it wants to care fully analyze the cost of wind power and how the additional resource may affect the over all price of electricity to con sumers.

NorthWestern also will conduct a separate study to determine the potential of energy conservation and load management in the overall electric supply portfolio.

Mark Thompson, NorthWestern Energy’s exec utive director of energy sup ply, said the company has established two teams com prised of internal officials, professional engineering con sultants and representatives from state and regional groups with backgrounds in renewable resources and demand-side resources.

The information will be incorporated into a computer model that helps in determin ing the value of contracts and does other analyses that will be used to develop the wind power bid solicitation. NorthWestern Energy intends to issue the solicitation for wind power in early December, with bids due by mid-January.

Dennis Lopach, senior vice president of administrative services, said the company is concerned by a recent pro posal filed by Whitehall Wind to enter the portfolio as an independent power producer or qualifying facility. NorthWestern has asked the company to drop its request and participate in the bid process instead.

“ We were working toward a comprehensive solution that will be to the benefit of all of our customers,” Lopach said, adding that the independent power process doesn’t pro vide guarantees that cus tomers will receive the best option and may saddle them with unnecessary costs.

Lopach said NorthWestern intends to complete the wind assessment process by next spring to support the develop ment, construction and imple mentation of wind power by 2003.

Although NorthWestern Energy customers can buy power from other suppliers, the competitive market has not fully developed for all customers. As a result, NorthWestern as the default supplier wants to maintain competitive rates on behalf of the 295,000 consumers who don’t directly buy their power from other suppliers.

The cost of the electricity supply is tracked annually and submitted to the state Public Service Commission for review and approval. Those supply costs are passed directly through to customers without additional mark-up or profit on the part of NorthWestern, the company said.

NorthWestern took Montana Power’s proposed default supply portfolio, which was subject of a PSC hearing earlier this year. In June, the PSC refused to approve some of power sup ply contracts proposed by NorthWestern and Montana Power Co.

PSC Utility Analyst Will Rosquist said the NorthWestern plans for the studies and bid proposal are similar to what the company has been discussing with its advisory committee.

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