The Montana Power Company (MPC) was an electric utility company based in
Butte, Montana
Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...
, which provided electricity to Montana consumers and industry from 1912 to 1997.
History
The Montana Power Company was founded in 1912 by
John D. Ryan, then president of
Anaconda Copper Mining Company
The Anaconda Copper Mining Company, known as the Amalgamated Copper Company between 1899 to 1915, was an American mining company headquartered in Butte, Montana. It was one of the largest trusts of the early 20th century and one of the largest mi ...
, as a consolidation of several hydroelectric plants in Montana.
[Montana Power Co.: GENERATIONS OF POWER: History of Montana Power Co.]
, ''The Missoulan'' (2001)
In the 1960s there was a split, culminating in Anaconda Co. resisting an MPC rate hike. In 1959 MPC bought coal mining rights at
Colstrip, Montana
Colstrip is a city in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,096 at the 2020 census. Established in 1924 and incorporated as a city in 1998, Colstrip is the largest city in Rosebud County with 25.2% of the total populatio ...
, with plans to develop coal-fired electrical generation plants there.
After developing four plants, MPC sold its Colstrip power plants in the fall of 1997 to
PP&L Resources for $759 million. The remaining power operations were sold to
Northwestern Energy
NorthWestern Corporation owns NorthWestern Energy, a utility company that serves South Dakota, Nebraska, and Montana that is based in Sioux Falls. , the company serves approximately 718,000 customers. The company's corporate headquarters are loc ...
.
With the arrival of utilities deregulation in the 1990s, Montana Power restructured itself into a telecommunications company by 2001, Touch America Holdings, and began divesting its utility and energy holdings. The company built a fiber optics network and incurred heavy losses during the
dot-com downturn in the early 2000s. Touch America filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...
in 2003, selling its facilities to
360networks with plans to sell off remaining assets to defend against shareholder lawsuits.
Litigation over the company's assets continued until early 2013, when a settlement was reached offering shareholders 29 cents per share.
The shares were once worth $65.
See also
*
Kerr Dam
The Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam previously known as the Kerr Dam is a concrete gravity-arch dam located at river mile 72 of the Flathead River (116 river kilometer). Built in 1938, it raises the level and increases the size of Flathead Lake ne ...
References
External links
*Missoulian Special Section
Montana Power Co. Generations of Power, column by Bill Mann, ''The Motley Fool'' (September 29, 1999)
, op-ed by
Deirdre McNamer, ''The New York Times'' (April 6, 2008).
Montana Power Company Papers(University of Montana Archives)
The demise of Montana Power Company documentary by Montana Public Broadcasting (March 4, 2010)
{{Authority control
Telecommunications companies established in 1912
American companies established in 1912
Defunct electric power companies of the United States
Hydroelectric power companies of the United States
Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States
Defunct companies based in Montana
Butte, Montana
Energy companies established in 1912
Companies disestablished in 2003
1912 establishments in Montana
2003 disestablishments in Montana
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2003
Defunct energy companies of the United States