Is This What Northwestern Energy Wanted All Along?

• Montana Public Service Commission voted to let Northwestern Energy keep half of the unauthorized rate increase they implemented last month
• That means instead of your bill going up 8.4% it will go up 4.2%

Northwestern Energy Ordered To Forgo Half Of Unauthorized Rate Hike

The Montana Public Service Commission held their meeting to vote on whether or not to let the unauthorized rate hike stand that Northwestern Energy implemented on Montanans back in June 2025.

After reading several articles about this, I've come to some conclusions:

1. The Montana PSC commissioners have to go
2. Northwestern Energy got exactly what they were hoping for, and they look "like they got in trouble" from the PSC. In actuality, I feel they got just what they wanted

Why Does The Montana Public Service Commission Have To Go?

They aren't working for US, regular low-paid Montanans. How did I come to this conclusion?

Commissioner Annie Bukacek. She makes around $114,643 a year according to KCTR. She said she thinks Montanans don't know how good they have it for utility prices in comparison to other expenses.

Bukacek and Northwestern Energy CEO, Brian Bird who made $4.8 MILLION dollars last year, compared it to... you guessed it, coffee and a Big Mac meal. Bird says you can get coffee and a Big Mac meal for $15 and all the energy and gas a home needs for just $6 a day. What a SCREAMING deal for just $180 a MONTH, said no one ever.

Even if the average Montanan had the audacity to get both a coffee AND Big Mac meal on the same day, I guarantee they aren't doing it EVERY DAY.

When you're bringing home about $9,553 a month like Bukacek or $400,000 a month like Bird, I'll bet that does seem like such the deal.

Surprise, the average Montanans makes 4,683.50 a month according to Zip Recruiter, so these two don't know what they think they know and they have absolutely no idea whatsoever as to what constitutes affordable.

Why Do I Think This Was The Goal Of NW Energy All Along?

Because I work in the media and public relations and have experience with this kind of thing.

• I wrote an article awhile back that stated that Montana had some of the highest energy rates in the nation. The media person at NW Energy was all over me until I pulled that sentence. That tells me they KNOW Montanans are at a breaking point.
• They knew if they just went ahead and did the preposterous rate hike, then took a hand smacking from the PSC, that they'd at least get some of it, and they would seem to have gotten in trouble and the Montana PSC looks like heroes. I don't think this is turning out the way they had hoped.

I feel the only way out of this is to start with the Montana Public Service Commission. We'll work our way to Northwestern Energy when we get real Montanans with real Montana values working for our actual Montana way of life.

It all starts with casting a vote.

Sources: NBC Montana, Montana Free Press, PSC.MT.Gov, Daily Montanan, Daily Montanan, Daily Montanan, Legistorm, KCTR, USA Facts, Simply Wallstreet, Zip Recruiter

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