Days after quietly upping rates nearly 17%, NorthWestern Energy moves to raise them again

NorthWestern Energy, Montana's largest monopoly utility, submitted a filing on May 30 to the Montana Public Service to raise the rates it charges for sending power to its customers in Montana.

Effective July 1, the typical residential customer will see an increase of $9.04 per month, which is an increase of 7.65%. The actual change will depend on each customer's type and usage.

That rate hike comes on top of a 16.87% increase ($17.07 per month) that the company quietly implemented on May 23.

NorthWestern Energy quietly implements big price hike for Montana electricity users

NorthWestern Energy used an obscure law to quietly raise electricity prices for Montana customers recently, but it's still subject to a review.

So, the hundreds of thousands of residential customers in Montana who