Op Ed: NorthWestern Rate Increase Unfair

NorthWestern Energy customers are about to get shocked with a huge increase in their electric rates if the Public Service Commission grants NorthWestern Energy’s request to increase residential rates. The public hearings are over and final legal briefs are being submitted. But, like a cancer waiting to metastasize, it has not gone away and it will wreak havoc on the very people who can least afford it.

Don’t be fooled by efforts to minimize the impact of this rate case. Residential customers are facing a 28% increase in their utility bills compared to a year ago. And thanks to a “negotiated se...