NorthWestern Seeks Energy Generation Proposals for Montana Customers

NorthWestern Energy plans to soon release a 2017 Request for Proposals (RFP) aimed at gauging proposals for the generation of up to 150 megawatts of electricity that could be used to serve its Montana customers.

The Request for Proposals seeks to procure "dispatchable" electrical capacity and energy that can be delivered to its Montana customers. NorthWestern encourages proposals using a variety of fuel types and technologies. The RFP seeks proposals from sources that would be available by the end of 2019.

This RFP seeks proposals for Power Purchase Agreements, ownership opportunities, (e.g., a transfer of development assets, sale of an existing asset or joint venture), Build-Own-Transfer ("BOT") projects from a bidder’s site or Engineer-Procure-Construct projects on a site owned by NorthWestern.

More Information regarding this RFP can be found on the website at http://northwesternresourcerfp.accionpower.com. A bidder’s conference call is scheduled for Feb. 22, 2017. Completed offers must be submitted through the RFP website by not later than 5 p.m. April 17, 2017.

NorthWestern filed its Electric Supply Resource Procurement Plan with the Montana Public Service Commission in March 2016. The plan updated the company’s short and long-term plans to provide reliable, cost-effective electricity to its customers in Montana.

Since the acquisition of its Montana hydroelectric system late in 2014, NorthWestern’s needs have focused on adding capacity to meet customer needs during periods of peak energy demand. The utility is also seeking added generation capacity to help meet new national reliability standards and give it greater capability for increasing or decreasing output to address the intermittent nature of renewable generation, including wind.

About NorthWestern Energy (NYSE: NWE)

NorthWestern Energy provides electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 701,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. More information on NorthWestern Energy is available on the company’s website at http://www.northwesternenergy.com.