Psc District 2 Final

For immediate release PSC District 2 EDITOR’S NOTE: These stories are produced by University of Montana journalism students under the supervision of Professor Dennis Swibold. They may be republished without charge, provided editors retain the students’ bylines. Please contact Professor Swibold ([email protected]) with any questions. You can also find this story and others on the upcoming election at www.montanaschoice2008.blogspot.com.

Ethics Charges Trump Issues in PSC District 2 BY RYAN THOMPSON Community News Service UM School of Journalism Public Service Commission District 2 candidates Brad Molnar and Ron Tussing may not hate each other, but don’t look for them to be playing golf together anytime soon. “I have never seen more people willing to debase themselves in an election,” Molnar said of Tussing’s campaign. “It’s all about politics.” Big questions await the PSC’s decision—questions such as the role alternative energy should play in Montana’s energy market and whether NorthWestern Energy should be allowed to charge ratepayers for electricity produced by the Colstrip 4 coal-fired power plant. But Molnar, the Republican incumbent, and Tussing, a Democrat and the mayor of Billings, have both been accused of running unethical campaigns. The disputes have all but overshadowed their stands on issues facing the commission responsible for setting the rates thousands of Montana households are charged for power. Molnar has been accused of violating campaign ethics with his “Great Billings Brownout,” an event he launched in December 2007 to encourage Billings residents to conserve energy by trimming their electricity consumption for one hour. Tussing’s campaign manager, Mary Jo Fox, filed an ethics charge against Molnar with the state commissioner of political practices for allegedly using brochures printed for that event in his campaign as well. The brochures were sponsored companies that the PSC regulates, including NorthWestern Energy. The dispute flared up again in June when three Democratic members of the five-member PSC voted to seek an attorney general’s opinion on Molnar’s “Brownout” brochures. Decisions on both Fox’s and the PSC’s complaints are still pending. “The law is so clear that I didn’t do anything. It was an educational event,” Molnar said, adding that it is “completely legal” for regulated corporations to endorse educational events. Molnar said the timing of the complaint, at the start of his PSC re-election, seems too convenient. “Why are they (Tussing’s campaign) bringing this up?” he asked. “Because they have nothing else to say. The timing was political.” However, PSC Chairman Greg Jergeson, a Democrat, sees it differently. “It became obvious that he had engaged in activity which other elected officials used constituent accounts for,” Jergeson said. “It was self-promotional.”

Molnar and District 4 Commissioner Doug Mood, a Republican, refused to vote on whether to seek a ruling from the attorney general. Mood saw the move as pure politics. “I’m not sure why the Democrats on the commission decided to bring it to a vote. It was highly inappropriate,” Mood said. “Politics is what it is.” Meanwhile, Tussing must contend with an ethics complaint alleging that he used his city email account to campaign and attack Molnar. Longtime Tussing critic Don Cyphers filed this more recent complaint and four previous ethics charges against Tussing. The Billings Board of Ethics recently dismissed the first four complaints. Cyphers’ most recent complaint is still pending. While Tussing concedes he did support the listed political groups, he said he did so on his own time without using city resources or money. He calls the latest complaint baseless. “It’s politics at its finest,” Tussing said. Politics aside, the PSC District 2 candidates also disagree on the role the PSC should play in the development of Montana’s fossil-fuel resources or alternative-energy sources such as wind, sun, geothermal heat and biofuels. Although the PSC does not make state energy policy, Tussing says the commission does have the ability to make recommendations on state energy decisions. He would like to see Montana further explore wind power. “The Judith Gap wind farm is the cheapest electricity that we have now, factoring all the tax incentives,” Tussing said. “I would like to see regional wind farms and regional transmission (of power).” Molnar sees his job as regulating rather than influencing energy choices, which vary depending on the situation, he said. “Energy is like a mosaic,” he said. “Coal works best in a lot of places, natural gas works in some situations, and geothermal will work in some situations. Where does this fit into what we have? That’s the question.” Tussing also wants the Legislature to provide incentives to explore for more geothermal energy, which he says could provide new power opportunities. Molnar agreed that geothermal exploration may present opportunities, but added that the recent geothermal energy contracts he has seen would be double the current energy costs. Again, he stressed that the commission regulates rather than sets energy policy to bring consumers the best prices. “If somebody wants to drill it (geothermal energy) and bring it in, then drill it and bring it in,” Molnar said. “As a commissioner, it’s not my job to pick winners and losers. It’s my job to take a look at what those costs are.” Another issue on PSC’s agenda is what prices NorthWestern Energy should be able to charge its Montana customers for the company’s acquisition of the Colstrip 4 power plant. The company says it should be allowed to charge $407 million, the price the power is worth now. Montana’s Consumer Counsel argues that the figure should be based on what the power was worth when it was purchased: less than $200 million. “It ($407 million) would be a reasonable price because that’s what private companies bid it at,” Molnar said. “However, because that’s still an ongoing issue before the PSC, I can’t comment.” Tussing said he agrees with the Consumer Council’s recommendation that Colstrip is “not a good deal for ratepayers.”

“NorthWestern Energy and none of them are in business so your grandma can have a warm house and lights go on when you flip a switch,” he said. “They are for-profit businesses and you have to watch them.” On Nov. 4, Montana voters will decide which of the two candidates gets to do the watching. Until then, voters can expect a lively campaign. “None of this (the ethics complaints) has anything to do with energy regulation,” Molnar said. “In my wildest moments, I couldn’t come up with this. It’s a very odd campaign.” -30-