Groups say Public Service Commission is stalling on climate petition
Keila Szpaller
(Daily Montanan) The Montana Public Service Commission needs to take up a stalled petition that calls on regulators to account for climate change, said a group of more than 40 organizations and businesses.
In a recent letter, the groups said they are still waiting for the Public Service Commission to take up their motion to reconsider its Sept. 2, 2025, decision against declaring the state Constitution requires it to consider the adverse impacts of climate change in its work.
The groups include Families for a Livable Climate, the Montana Environmental Information Center, Big Sky Resort, Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, and others. They are represented by Earthjustice and Western Environmental Law Center.
The April 16 letter said the Public Service Commission typically has 20 days to rule on a motion for reconsideration. It said on Oct. 1, 2025, the commission postponed reconsideration, but without demonstrating “good cause,” as required by law.
In the meantime, the environmental and economic impacts of climate change “have only intensified across Montana,” the letter said, citing “extreme drought,” early wildfires, and the warmest, or second or third warmest, January and February on record in 2026 for towns across Montana.
“Snowpack in the State was below average this winter,” the letter said. “In Northwest Montana, atmospheric rivers resulted in unprecedented floods, a state of emergency, a months-long public health drinking water advisory, and destruction of critical transportation infrastructure.”
In its order, the Public Service Commission said if it doesn’t act on a motion to reconsider within 20 days, the motion is considered denied. But the order said the commission could waive that deadline, and it did so in part because of its “current workload.”
The workload includes a $15.4 billion proposed merger between NorthWestern Energy and Black Hills Corp and questions about how to handle data centers as a new class of customer, both matters of significant public interest.
Tuesday, PSC spokesperson Jamey Petersen said staff estimate July as “the general timeframe” for taking up the reconsideration request from the climate petitioners.
Petersen declined to comment on whether the commission shares the concerns the groups raised about the negative economic impacts of climate change.
“Because the motion for reconsideration remains before the Commission in an open docket, the Commission will not comment on the merits of petitioners’ arguments, including their discussion of climate‑related economic impacts, outside the formal proceeding,” Petersen said in an email.
In its original order rejecting the proposals from the groups, the Public Service Commission said declaring it must consider climate change would exceed its authority as “an administrative agency.”
“It is well established that the Montana Constitution does not allow administrative agencies to issue declarations interpreting the Constitution,” the order said.
At the time, the Montana Environmental Information Center said the Public Service Commission was avoiding its legal obligation to consider climate change, especially in light of the Montana Supreme Court decision in Held v. Montana.
“(The decision) reaffirmed our right to a clean and healthful environment includes a right to a stable climate,” said the center’s Nick Fitzmaurice at the time.
But the chief legal counsel for the Public Service Commission said the agency balances numerous rights, such as the “right to pursue life’s basic necessities,” which in the context of utility regulation also includes things like water service and electricity.
The groups include clean energy organizations, faith and youth advocates, and a number of businesses that argue the inattention to climate change already is hurting their bottom line and, as a result, the economy of Montana.
A 2023 report by Power Consulting Incorporated said the status quo in Montana would mean $263 million in annual economic losses in tourism by mid-century from drops in national park visits, angling, wildlife watching, big game hunting, and skiing and snowmobiling.