Convenes roundtable to expand energy production in face of rising demand

HELENA, MT - Governor Greg Gianforte today held a roundtable with energy suppliers, large energy consumers, public utility companies, transmission stakeholders, prospective business investors, and legislators to discuss how Montana can unleash the production of American-made energy to meet growing demand across the region.

“With rising demand on our power grid, we must do more to unleash American energy production in the United States,” Gov. Gianforte said. “By bringing together policymakers, the private sector, public utilities, and other energy leaders, I’m optimistic that we can make it easier to produce American-made energy in Montana to benefit consumers and create more good-paying jobs.”

Asking questions of roundtable participants, Gov. Gianforte heard of the rising demand for affordable and reliable energy to power homes and businesses, the need to expand transmission capacity in the state, and to create a regulatory environment that encourages further investment.

Sharing the perspective of businesses looking to make an investment in Montana, Dave Sabey of the Sabey Corporation said, “We need a regulatory environment that is predictable just as much as we need a predictable supply of energy.”

Speaking to the factors driving up costs for consumers, Jon Bennion, director of government relations for The Washington Companies, added, “Federal action and rulemaking over the last several decades has not been beneficial toward baseload power. We saw that in the last year when there was a rule out of the EPA that could shut down one of the options here in Montana.”

According to a recent report from the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, the growth in electricity demand is projected to grow by 20 percent in the next ten years. The same report projected a 9 percent increase in demand only two years ago. This increase in demand comes at a time when the cost of electricity has risen nearly 30 percent since President Joe Biden took office.

Opening up the discussion, the governor said, “With the Biden-Harris administration fading into the background, there is an opportunity to reinvigorate our energy sector and increase the supply of affordable, reliable energy for consumers. I make the commitment to the new Trump administration that Montana stands ready to do our part to expand energy production to help make America Affordable Again.”

Joining the governor for the discussion, Sen. Daniel Zolnikov (R-Billings) and Rep. Garry Parry (R-Colstrip) spoke of the need for a coordinated effort between the legislature, state agencies, and the private sector to collaborate on efforts to expand American-made energy production and transmission.

The group repeatedly identified Montana a net energy exporter, supplying electricity to states across the United States and Canada, and spoke to the importance of expanding investments to increase transmission capacity.

Asking prospective businesses what primary factors they consider when looking to invest in a state, CEO John Chesser of Quantica Infrastructure said, “It’s important the state encourages the infrastructure projects like those that Montana has already announced – it projects that the state is open for business. The work that GRID United has been doing which allows power to come in from out of state at times of the year and allows power from Montana to be shared across the region also shows the state is open for business.”

Understanding the rising demand and need to expand production and transmission, the governor this year welcomed several investments to secure Montana’s energy future, including $1 billion at the Clearwater Wind Energy Center outside of Miles City and $700 million for the North Plains Connector Interregional Innovation project, which is the first high voltage transmission line between Montana’s east and west power grids.

Listen to Gov. Gianforte’s full roundtable discussion here.