PSC contest focuses on energy future

HELENA - Democrat John Vincent says the race for Public Service Commission in southwest Montana is one of the most important races on the Nov. 4 ballot.

And he won't say a word against his Republican opponent, Alan Olson.

"I don't know Alan Olson," said Vincent, a former state lawmaker, Bozeman mayor and Gallatin County commissioner. "I am not saying at this point anything about Alan Olson's positions, because I haven't heard anything from him, or in the media, what they are."

Olson, a state representative from Roundup, said a few things about Vincent, but not much, saying instead that he's running on his own record,as he vies for the open seat in PSC District 3: "I campaign on the issues. I don't talk about my opponent."

Yet despite the candidates' reluctance to point them out, there are definite differences between the two men, both on issues and in their personal background and experience.

Vincent, 66, a retired teacher, said he'd be a strong advocate for conservation, energy efficiency and renewable power, such as wind and solar, and wants to help NorthWestern Energy re-create itself as a "vertically integrated" utility that owns regulated power production.

Olson, 52, a field inspector for the state Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, also is a big supporter of undoing the deregulation of NorthWestern and converting it back to an electric utility that owns power production. In fact, he sponsored the company-backed bill in 2007 that seeks to achieve that goal.

Yet Olson cast votes against key wind- and renewable-energy bills in the 2005 Legislature, is a longtime booster of coal development and says that renewable power always will need to be supported by steady, reliable power sources such as coal.

The two men also are getting support from different corners of Montana's political world.

Olson has been endorsed by the Montana AFL-CIO, the state's main labor group, and his campaign contributors include many fellow Republican legislators and people connected with the oil, gas, coal and agriculture industries.

Vincent's campaign funds, through June, have come primarily from fellow Democrats and a few folks in the environmental community. He said he also has support from two individual labor unions, business people and rank-and-file union members.

The candidates' next campaign finance report is due next week.

Olson and Vincent are running for the PSC District 3 seat being vacated by Public Service Commissioner Bob Raney, a Livingston Democrat, who decided not to run for re-election.

District 3 covers 14 southwestern Montana counties, stretching from Roundup in Musselshell County to Dillon in Beaverhead County, and includes the cities of Butte, Bozeman, Livingston, Anaconda, Townsend, Big Timber and Columbus.

The race is for one of five seats on the PSC, which regulates utilities in Montana, and is one of three contested races for the PSC this election. The other contested races are District 2, is southeast Montana, and District 4, is northwestern Montana.

Vincent said the PSC races are vitally important because perhaps no other office has such a direct effect on voters' pocketbooks, since the PSC regulates utility rates and affects energy policy.

"But it's still under the (political) radar," he said. "I think that's too bad."

Vincent and Olson have yet to appear together at any public forum in the district and say none is scheduled in the district's two biggest cities, Butte and Bozeman.

Both men have been visiting towns in the district, talking to groups and voters and doing some advertising. Vincent has run radio ads; Olson is considering them. TV ads are a possibility.

When asked why people should vote for him, Olson pointed primarily to his experience in energy issues, having worked in the oil and gas field and chaired the House Energy Committee the past two legislative sessions.

"I understand energy policy in Montana, I understand utility operations, I understand where energy comes from, how it's distributed and where it comes from," he said.

During his legislative career, Olson also has been a reliable ally of NorthWestern Energy, the electric and gas utility with its Montana headquarters in Butte.

He said that doesn't mean he'd favor NorthWestern on the commission, and that his support of NorthWestern's positions at the Legislature has always put the consumer first.

Olson voted against a 2005 bill that required NorthWestern and other utilities to buy a portion of their power from "renewable sources" such as wind. The company opposed the bill, which passed.

"I opposed it because it was a mandate," said Olson, who believes the best price should dictate what power the utility obtains for its customers. "Nobody ever saw me carry a bill to mandate coal generation."

He also opposed a 2005 bill giving property tax breaks to wind power projects, saying it unfairly benefited one type of energy project, but said he has supported other measures to encourage alternative energy.

Vincent said he'll be a reliable vote on the PSC for consumer interests, as well as a booster of conservation efforts. He said he expects Democratic lawmakers at the 2009 Legislature to propose major efforts to promote more energy efficiency through incentives for homeowners and businesses, and that he'll strongly support that push.

"The cheapest energy is energy that you don't use," he said.

Yet whether voters will hear either candidate's message remains to be seen. Both said it's hard to get noticed when running for something like the PSC.

And as for blasting their opponent, both insist they just won't do it.

"I think Alan and I are both perceived as being nice guys," Vincent said. "There is no personal animosity at all."