HELENA (AP)
The Public Service Commission decided Tuesday to keep Greg Jergeson as chairman, but chose a new vice chairman. Jergeson, a Democrat, recently was reelected to another four year term on the PSC. He will be chairman for at least the next two years after the unanimous vote by the five-member panel. Republican Doug Mood was picked for vice chairman after the current vice chairman, Brad Molnar, also a Republican, backed out. Molnar said he wanted to focus on energy development in his district, which covers much of southeastern Montana, rather than attend to duties required of the vice chairman. Molnar nominated Mood for the post, saying the PSC needs bipartisan leadership since it will be dealing with a divided Legislature. The PSC is in the midst of a review of the proposed sale of NorthWestern Energy to an Australian company, Babcock & Brown Infrastructure LLC. That, along with proposals to re-regulate the utility, are expected to dominate the PSC’s attention. “This next year we face one of the most important decision we will face in our tenure,” Mood said of the BBI sale. Jergeson was sworn in earlier in the day on Tuesday along with new Democratic commissioner Ken Toole, who beat Mike Taylor in a very close race to win a spot on the panel. Jergeson ran unopposed. Democrats hold a 3-2 edge over Republicans on the PSC.
