Speaking up for a brighter future: Next steps.
1,000+ Montanans sign letter to NorthWestern Energy’s board of directors and corporate leadership
No matter who we are or where we live in the state, we care about our communities. We care about our families and our kids and grand kids. Montanans show up for each other. When we stand together, we are strong and resilient, and we can overcome huge challenges.
As the climate crisis continues to intensify across our state with communities experiencing longer droughts, extreme heat, massive flooding, more wildfires and wildfire smoke–we will need each other more than ever before. And we will certainly need the hardworking employees of NorthWestern Energy to keep our lights on. We know they will and we appreciate them deeply for their dedication, standing with us when extreme weather or other emergencies strike.
NorthWestern Energy’s leadership on the other hand does not currently stand with us. Not only are they planning to dramatically jack up rates on Montana families, they’re also planning to continue investing in expensive and dirty energy sources for over the next decade, contributing to further extreme changes in our climate which will endanger our families’ health, our homes and our livelihoods.
Over this past summer, we canvassed for signatures on our NorthWestern Energy letter in Helena, Butte, and Missoula, and had incredible conversations with moms, dads, grandparents, energy workers, small business owners, and more. As a result, on September 23, we delivered a letter to NorthWestern Energy’s Board of Directors and leadership bearing over 1,000 signatures, asking the company to move to clean, affordable, and renewable energy. As NorthWestern Energy’s leadership begins its Electricity Supply Planning process and prepares to send lobbyists to Helena in January, we must build momentum for statewide pressure on the company to move away from fossil fuels and toward clean, renewable energy.
To get involved with building this momentum:
Join us for our October Welcome Call & Take Action Training on October 18, or the Climate Conversations Skills Workshop on October 27.
Commit to writing a letter to the editor about this issue (it’s only 200 words!)--join our LTE campaign by sending an email to director@livableclimate.org with your name, community, and which week you plan to submit your letter. We will send you some talking points as well.
Save the date to join in the Climate Advocacy Day at the Montana State Legislature, in Helena on Friday, January 20, 2023.
Stay tuned for public comment opportunities at the Montana Public Service Commission in January and February.
Follow our friends at MEIC for legislative action alerts.
Stop ignoring us and stand with us!
On Friday, September 23, as part of the Global Climate Strike, we gathered an intergenerational group of supporters at NorthWestern Energy in Missoula to mark the delivery of our letter to their Board of Directors and corporate leadership.
Steve Clawson, the community affairs manager (Missoula division) kindly accepted the letter outside the Missoula office. We also mailed the letter and signatures to the board of directors and executive leadership at the company. We just received a letter from Bob Rowe in response, and will share more about that soon.
Watch the remarks from our speakers at the letter delivery rally below!