For immediate releasePSC District 2

EDITOR’S NOTE

: These stories are produced by University of Montana journalism studentsunder the supervision of Professor Dennis Swibold. They may be republished without charge, provided editors retain the students’ bylines. Please contact Professor Swibold(dennis.swibold@umontana.edu

) with any questions. You can also find this story and others onthe upcoming election atwww.montanaschoice2008.blogspot.com.

Ethics Charges Trump Issues in PSC District 2

BY RYAN THOMPSONCommunity News ServiceUM School of Journalism

Public Service Commission District 2 candidates Brad Molnar and Ron Tussing may nothate each other, but don’t look for them to be playing golf together anytime soon.“I have never seen more people willing to debase themselves in an election,” Molnar said of Tussing’s campaign. “It’s all about politics.”Big questions await the PSC’s decision

—

questions such as the role alternative energy should play in Montana’s energy market and whether NorthWestern Energy should be allowed to chargeratepayers for electricity produced by the Colstrip 4 coal-fired power

plant.But Molnar, the Republican incumbent, and Tussing, a Democrat and the mayor of Billings,have both been accused of running unethical campaigns. The disputes have all but overshadowedtheir stands on issues facing the commission responsible for setting the rates thousands of Montana households are charged for power.Molnar has been accused of violating campaign ethics with his “Great Billings Brownout,”an event he launched in December 2007 to encourage Billings residents to conserve energy bytrimming their electricity consumption for one hour.Tussing’s campaign manager, Mary Jo Fox, filed an ethics charge against Molnar with thestate commissioner of political practices for allegedly using brochures printed for that event inhis campaign as well. The brochures were sponsored companies that the PSC regulates, including NorthWestern Energy.The dispute flared up

again in June when three Democratic members of the five-member PSC voted to seek an attorney general’s opinion on Molnar’s “Brownout” brochures. Decisionson both Fox’s and the PSC’s complaints are still pending.“The law is so clear that I didn’t do anything. It was an educational event,” Molnar said,adding that it is “completely legal” for regulated corporations to endorse educational events

Molnar said the timing of the

complaint, at the start of his PSC re-election, seems tooconvenient.“Why are they (Tussing’s campaign) bringing this up?” he asked. “Because they havenothing else to say. The timing was political.”However, PSC Chairman Greg Jergeson, a Democrat, sees it differently.“It became obvious that he had engaged in activity which other elected officials usedconstituent accounts for,” Jergeson said. “It was self-promotional.”

Molnar and District 4 Commissioner Doug Mood, a Republican, refused to vote on whether to seek a ruling from the attorney general. Mood saw the move as pure politics.“I’m not sure why the Democrats on the commission decided to bring it to a vote. It washighly inappropriate,” Mood said. “Politics is what it is.”Meanwhile, Tussing must contend with an ethics complaint alleging that he used his city e-mail account to campaign and attack Molnar. Longtime Tussing critic Don Cyphers filed thismore recent complaint and four previous ethics charges against Tussing.The Billings Board of Ethics recently dismissed the first four complaints. Cyphers

’

mostrecent complaint is still pending.While Tussing concedes he did support the listed political groups, he said he did so on hisown time without using city resources or money. He calls the latest complaint baseless.“It’s politics at its finest,” Tussing said.Politics aside, the PSC District 2 candidates also disagree on the role the PSC should play inthe development of Montana’s fossil-fuel resources or alternative

energy sources such as wind,sun, geothermal heat and biofuels.Although the PSC does not make state energy policy, Tussing says the commission doeshave the ability to make recommendations on state energy decisions. He would like to seeMontana further explore wind power.“The Judith Gap wind farm is the cheapest electricity that we have now, factoring all the taxincentives,” Tussing said. “I would like to see regional wind farms and regional transmission (of power).”Molnar sees his job as regulating rather than influencing energy choices, which varydepending on the situation, he said.“Energy is like a mosaic,” he said. “Coal works best in a lot of places, natural gas works insome situations, and geothermal will work in some situations. Where does this fit into what wehave? That’s the question.”Tussing also wants the Legislature to provide incentives to explore for more geothermalenergy, which he says could provide new power opportunities.Molnar agreed that geothermal exploration may present opportunities, but added that therecent geothermal energy contracts he has seen would be double the current energy costs. Again,he

stressed that the commission regulates rather than sets energy policy to bring consumers the best prices.“If somebody wants to drill it (geothermal energy) and bring it in, then drill it and bring itin,” Molnar said. “As a commissioner, it’s not my job to pick winners and losers. It’s my job totake a look at what those costs are.”Another issue on PSC’s agenda is what prices NorthWestern Energy should be able tocharge its Montana customers for the company’s acquisition of the Colstrip 4 power plant.The company says it should be allowed to charge $407 million, the price the power is worthnow. Montana’s Consumer Counsel argues that the figure should be based on what the power was worth when it was purchased: less than $200 million.“It ($407 million) would be a reasonable price because that’s what private companies bid itat,” Molnar said. “However, because that’s still an ongoing issue before the PSC, I can’tcomment.”Tussing said he agrees with the Consumer Council’s recommendation that Colstrip is “not agood deal for ratepayers.”