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Utility
Connections
American Public Power Association
Public power is a collection of more than 2,000 community-owned
electric utilities, serving over 40 million people or about 15
percent of the nation's electricity consumers. Public power
utilities are operated by local governments to provide communities
with reliable, responsive, not-for-profit electric service. Public
power utilities are directly accountable to the people they serve
through local elected or appointed officials.
 Efficiency Plus (E+) Savings Section
NorthWestern Energy funds a number of programs through the Universal Systems Benefits Charge, collected from all Montana electric and natural gas customers as required by law.
Check out this page for a list of available programs, as well as lots of information on conserving energy in your home or business.
The Renewable Energy
Request for Proposal (RFP) is available for download in both PDF and Word format.
Energy Usage
Ravalli Electric Coop
in Corvallis, Montana, has assembled an "Energy Usage" page on its website, which lists average monthly kilowatt-hour figures for various appliances.
Con.WEB, a monthly newsletter and information resource on Pacific
Northwest energy conservation and renewable energy.
Green Mountain Energy Company
Want to know where your electricity comes from? Ask Green Mountain, which sells
electricity for residential customers featuring renewable resources like wind,
water, and geothermal.
Montana Public Service Commission
Visit the Montana Public Service Commission website to find consumer information,
press releases, current documents, and "Energy Page," and individual
commissioner web pages.
National Energy Affordability and Accessibilty Project
Provides consumer news and information about energy affordability, energy
restructuring and deregulation and energy prices. The site features a U.S. "Restructuring
Guide at a Glance" and state restructuring profiles, plus details on energy
programs available to all residential consumers, including the low income.
Net Metering Policies
Net metering policies serve as an important incentive for consumer investment
in renewable energy generation. It also enables green power marketers to capitalize
on the demand for green energy products and services. The Department of Energy’s Green Power Network provides background on the concept of net metering, a state-by-state
summary of net metering programs, the full text of all net metering rules, program
participation rates where available, relevant analysis, papers and reports, and more.
NorthWestern Energy Net Metering Agreement
Northwestern Energy has issued its net-metering policy documents, officially called "Interconnection Agreement for Customer-Owned, Grid-Connected Electric Generating
Facilities of 50 Kilowatts or Less Peak Generating Capacity." The nine-page
document also includes pages spelling out the utility’s net metering requirements
for grid connection of renewable resources. In brief, a net metering system is
one that:
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Uses as its fuel renewable
resources; defined to be solar, wind or hydropower, or other generation system
pre-approved by the utility.
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Has a generating capacity of not
more than 50 (fifty) kilowatts.
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Is located on the customer-generator’s
premises.
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Operates in parallel with the
NWE distribution system.
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Is intended primarily to offset
part or all of the customer-generator’s requirements for electricity at the specific
site where the generation is installed.
Power Switch
Consumers across the United States are discovering that changes are under way
in the electric power industry. Perhaps they saw a commercial on television in
which a company with an odd, modern-sounding name tried to persuade them to buy
its "brand" of electricity. Or perhaps they noticed that articles on hearings before state legislatures and utility commissions have moved from the business
section to the front page of their newspaper. To learn more about restructuring
and how it may affect the environment, visit the link above.
Rural Utilities Service Electric Program
The electric program of USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS)
provides leadership and capital to upgrade, expand, maintain, and
replace America’s vast rural electric infrastructure. Under the
authority of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, RUS makes
direct loans and loan guarantees to electric utilities to serve
customers in rural areas. Through RUS, the federal government is
the majority note holder for more than 700 electric systems.
The website includes a page that
provides a partial list of links to other web pages developed by
government, industry groups, conferences, events, and other
interesting web pages promoting renewable energy.
Top 10 Utility Green Power Programs
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has compiled extensive data on utility green power programs and produced "Top Ten" lists of program characteristics and results: total sales of renewable energy to program participants; total number of customer participants; customer participation rates; and the premium charged to support new renewables development.
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