> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Montana Orders 5 Fixes to NorthWestern’s 20-Year Power Plan
- URL: https://www.theamericanquorum.com/state-news-montana-2026-09-23-b/
- Published: 2026-09-24T03:46:02.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-24T03:46:02.000Z
- Description: Montana regulators ordered NorthWestern Energy to correct five deficiencies in its 20-year power plan, citing gaps in reliability analysis, forecasting, modeling transparency and demand-response treatment.
- Author: News Desk
- Tags: Policy, Montana

Montana utility regulators have ordered NorthWestern Energy to correct five deficiencies in its latest long-range electricity plan, a decision that could shape how the state’s largest power company justifies future investments and customer costs. The Public Service Commission voted 3-1 on Aug. 18 to return the plan for revisions after staff and an outside consultant concluded that it did not meet all state planning requirements, according to [commission coverage](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/public-service-commission-says-northwesterns-energy-plan-deficient?ref=theamericanquorum.com).

The document is an Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP, rather than an application to build a specific plant or raise rates. NorthWestern says it files one every three years to compare generation portfolios capable of serving Montana customers reliably, safely and affordably over a 20-year horizon. The company’s [planning page](https://northwesternenergy.com/about-us/gas-electric/montana-electric-supply-planning?ref=theamericanquorum.com) says the 2026 plan was filed April 28, while the [full plan](https://northwesternenergy.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/about-us/erp-irp/2026-mt-irp-public.pdf?ref=theamericanquorum.com) describes the assumptions and portfolios behind its preferred path.

The commission’s review identified five areas needing more work. The plan did not adequately show the duration, frequency and timing of potential long-term energy and capacity shortfalls; its comparison of portfolio risks was incomplete; its models were not documented well enough for outside reviewers to reproduce key results; its retail-demand forecast lacked supporting regression equations and data; and it did not include demand-response resources in its capacity-expansion modeling. Those findings were summarized in both [MTN’s report](https://www.ktvh.com/news/montana-politics/montana-psc-asks-northwestern-energy-to-revise-integrated-resource-plan?ref=theamericanquorum.com) and a detailed [independent review](https://montanafreepress.org/2026/08/27/northwestern-energys-power-plan-found-deficient-by-independent-review/?ref=theamericanquorum.com) of the commission’s action.

Data-center demand was another concern. The consultant, GDS Associates, found the plan treated data centers as potentially significant sources of new load but did not transparently explain how that demand entered the forecast. That matters because overstating future demand can support unnecessary construction, while understating it can expose customers to reliability problems. Vice President Jennifer Fielder described the return as quality control rather than a wholesale rejection, and said incomplete analysis raises the risk of both overbuilding and under-preparing.

NorthWestern’s plan says the utility has enough capacity for current needs but could face winter shortfalls as early as 2027\. In a statement reported by [KTVH](https://www.ktvh.com/news/montana-politics/montana-psc-asks-northwestern-energy-to-revise-integrated-resource-plan?ref=theamericanquorum.com), the company said it takes the recommendations seriously and remains committed to a transparent process. It said additional work should improve evaluation of costs, reliability risks and tradeoffs instead of simply generating more scenarios.

Commissioners Jeff Welborn, Fielder and Randy Pinocci voted to request revisions; Annie Bukacek voted no. Bukacek questioned the planning process’s cost, while the majority emphasized that the analysis informs much larger future spending decisions. The PSC had also held public listening sessions in Billings and Bozeman, as documented in an official [notice](https://psc.mt.gov/News/2026/MPSC-ANNOUNCES-PUBLIC-LISTENING-SESSIONS-ON-NORTHWESTERN-ENERGYS-2026-RESOURCE-PLAN2?ref=theamericanquorum.com).

The commission directed NorthWestern to correct the deficiencies within 30 days or request more time. Publicly available materials reviewed for this report do not establish whether that follow-up has been completed. The immediate effect of the vote is therefore procedural: it requires a clearer record before the plan can serve as a foundation for later resource acquisitions, regulatory reviews or rate cases.