NorthWestern Energy didn’t adequately evaluate more affordable options before it built the Yellowstone County Generating Station, and it “knew it was making a risky decision” to build the plant, according to Public Service Commission legal and regulatory staff.

The monopoly utility also didn’t manage risks in a cost effective way, and it likely could have avoided $45 million in cost overruns, said the staff report.

As such, staff recommend the Public Service Commission exclude those costs from the amount NorthWestern can recover from customers in a pending rate case.

“Staff concludes that there were significant deficiencies in the planning and procurement processes that raise serious doubts about whether NorthWestern minimized total costs and risks for customers,” said Public Service Co

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