NorthWestern Energy outlines layered wildfire plan including power‑shutdown tools and expanded sensors

NorthWestern Energy briefed the Environmental Quality Council on its wildfire mitigation plan, describing a multilevel strategy that blends operational practices, grid hardening and customer outreach.

Nate Linder, presenting the utility’s v.3.1 plan, said it was developed in response to HB 490 and framed around four objectives: reduce ignition potential, improve situational awareness, maintain a vegetation‑management program and expand communications and outreach. The plan uses a relative risk model that combines the utility’s asset data with fire‑spread simulations to prioritize segments for mitigation work.

Linder described operational levers the company deploys when short‑term risk rises, including enhanced power‑line safety settings and, when conditions dictate, public safety power shutoffs (PSPS). He said the utility uses a dashboard that overlays static asset risk with daily fire‑danger indices and that recloser settings can be adjusted to reduce fault energy during high‑risk weather.

On detection, Linder said Northwestern Energy operates smoke‑detection cameras at 20 locations and will add approximately 10 more camera sites in 2026; the company also plans to expand weather stations across its system to support its meteorologist. ‘‘We actually have 10 more camera locations coming in ’26,’’ he said, and described partnerships with counties that permit placement of cameras on communications towers.

Linder said the plan is deliberately Montana‑specific rather than a transplant of larger‑state approaches and stressed the tradeoffs between reliability, affordability and safety. He told council members the company patrols 100% of its system on the ground annually and supplements ground inspections with aerial and satellite assessments.

MDU Resources told the council it had also filed a PSC mitigation plan and will share a portal link with the committee.

Council members asked about coordination with state agencies, customer messaging for outages tied to safety settings, and how the utility engages landowners when vegetation work is required. Linder described homeowner outreach and a contractor process for vegetation removal and said the company has made investments in public communications and a dedicated public information manager.

Next steps: the council suggested revisiting utility‑agency coordination and how state policy might encourage or align with proven company practices; no formal action was taken at the meeting.