HELENA, Mont. — A delegation of Montana lawmakers have made their pitch to Washington state legislators to save the coal-fired Colstrip power plant — or at least give them time to plan for a partial shutdown.
A bill before the Washington Legislature would authorize Colstrip’s largest owner, Puget Sound Energy, to file a plan to decommission the two oldest units of the southeastern Montana plant.
The timing of the shutdown would be included in the plan to be filed with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission in 2017. Colstrip Units 3 and 4 would continue to operate.
Four Montana lawmakers appeared Wednesday before a Washington state Senate committee to discuss the economic consequences of a shutdown.
Republican Sen. Duane Ankney said Colstrip power helped build Washington, and the state shouldn’t just walk away from its neighbor now.
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