Press Releases

NorthWestern Energy Responds to Chronicle's Opinion

Butte, Mont. -- September 1, 2009 -- Last week NorthWestern Energy held the most recent in a series of public meetings to brief the community on our Bozeman infrastructure investment project, progress in determining the cause of the March 5th explosion, and other matters.  We did so to share the information we have with the Bozeman community, including the downtown community and others affected by the accident.   We also meet regularly with smaller groups and with individuals in the Bozeman community.

We know that the time the investigation has taken has been frustrating for many, especially the victims.  In the meantime, we have tried to be helpful, and to be responsible members of the Bozeman community.  We have, for example, contributed $50,000 to the Downtown Relief Fund to help victims of the explosion and we made an additional $50,000 contribution to the city’s loan fund to assist the downtown businesses with the site cleanup.  Although the clean-up funds weren’t tapped, our contribution will remain available for appropriate uses downtown.  

Much of what we have done to date has been in response to suggestions made by the local community, which we sought out in the days immediately after the explosion.  We accelerated our annual program of natural gas inspections and safety activity, compressing a yearly cycle into several months.  We opened a Main Street office, communicated about safety, and supported a campaign to attract customers downtown.  We’ve done what we can to make the process of filing claims as accessible as possible. 

Most importantly, we have made a major capital commitment to accelerate our gas system maintenance program in downtown Bozeman to help the downtown area “get back to normal” quicker and avoid the further disruption that would have been caused by ongoing construction that was originally scheduled to take place over the next several years.  

We have met with most of the affected property owners.  We understand and appreciate their frustrations, particularly those who feel they are caught between a rock and a hard place.  They have insurance, but may not have enough to cover all the costs of rebuilding, and they are dealing with a financial system that has tightened its lending practices in light of the recession and recent credit crisis.  

We believe, however, that the perception that the affected businesses are “in limbo” because the various insurers are “staring each other down” may not be entirely correct.  Most of the businesses that were damaged have insurance and those businesses’ insurers are adjusting their insured’s losses without awaiting the results of the investigation.  After a slower start than others and we would have liked, the various parties’ insurers have worked well with each other to investigate the cause of the accident. 

We understand but respectfully disagree with the Chronicle’s opinion that NorthWestern should step forward and advance funds before the cause of the explosion is pinpointed and before – or perhaps regardless of whether - any fault is ultimately determined.  Our legal system has a method for assigning liability, based on a determination of whether negligence occurred or whether an event took place, for example, because of natural forces.  That is what the insurance companies, lawyers and experts are working through.  

Accordingly, we respectfully question whether it is fair to place the blame on NorthWestern at this time.  As I stated at the briefing last week, I am not an expert in the subject of the investigation, and recognize that as the matter progresses others may communicate different assessments of the evidence than have our experts, different theories, or propose additional tests.  As your editorial acknowledged, “there may never be a definitive explanation of what caused the blast.”   

It is fair is to follow a careful path of investigation and provide information to the community, while doing our best to answer citizens’ questions.  If there are lessons to be learned we will learn them and tell the community about them. If changes need to be made, they will be made and we will also tell the community about those. 

NorthWestern Energy will continue to support the downtown Bozeman recovery effort in substantive ways.  We must do so while balancing our responsibility to all of our customers for safe and reliable electric and natural gas infrastructure and energy supply.  I have personally appreciated the Bozeman community’s willingness to discuss difficult matters frankly and constructively, and to work with us to help us be the best utility we can be for all of our customers.