NorthWestern Energy's Power Plan Found 'Deficient' by Independent Review

NorthWestern Energy has been ordered by state regulators to take its 20-year power plan back to the drawing board.

The move comes after analysts for the Montana Public Service Commission found deficiencies in the utility’s Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP. It’s essentially a roadmap that estimates power needs and how the utility will cost-effectively supply that power to its customers over the next two decades.

Commissioners voted 3-1 last week to require NorthWestern to address flaws found in the plan, according to an independent review from the consulting firm GDS. There are five commissione...