This bill would penalize the owners for the Colstrip plant for deciding to close Units 1 & 2. The bill imposes a $60 million+ penalty on the two Colstrip owners for agreeing to close two of the four units at the plant.
Last modified: January 23, 2017
[…] rise to the top of the lousy idea list. We highlight the bill that has a hearing this week, SB 338 (Sen. Duane Ankney, R-Colstrip). SB 338 is a punitive bill that will scare away investments in large-scale clean energy […]
[…] SB 38 (Sen. Ankney) would have charged the owners of Colstrip Units 1 & 2 a $60 million “exit fee” for closing those units, even though the owners have paid for schools, parks, and nearly all of the town’s property taxes for decades. (Even after Units 1 & 2 close, it is estimated the plant owners will pay around 70% of the local property taxes.) Even Sen. Ankney ultimately agreed that SB 38 was too extreme and the bill was tabled in the Senate Energy Committee. […]