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Montana lawmakers table Colstrip bill that would have charged PSE for closing coal plant

The Associated Press
Smoke rises from the Colstrip Steam Electric Station, a coal-burning power plant in Colstrip, Mont. A Montana legislative committee tabled a bill that would have required the two owners of the Colstrip plant to pay for economic losses caused by a planned partial plant shutdown.
Smoke rises from the Colstrip Steam Electric Station, a coal-burning power plant in Colstrip, Mont. A Montana legislative committee tabled a bill that would have required the two owners of the Colstrip plant to pay for economic losses caused by a planned partial plant shutdown. Matt Brown The Associated Press
HELENA, Mont.

A Montana legislative committee has tabled a bill that would have required the two owners of the Colstrip power plant to pay for economic losses caused by a partial plant shutdown.

The bill by Republican Sen. Duane Ankney of Colstrip would require Talen Energy and Puget Sound Energy to submit a closure plan to address the loss of property values, worker retraining, the loss of state and local tax revenue, and local government’s bond liabilities.

The House Energy, Technology and Federal Relations Committee vote to advance the bill failed on an 8-8 tie Monday.

The two older units of the coal-fired plant must close by July 2022 under a legal settlement.

Republican Rep. Derek Skees of Whitefish said the bill would set a bad precedent.

This story was originally published April 11, 2017 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Montana lawmakers table Colstrip bill that would have charged PSE for closing coal plant."

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