Butte, Mont. – April 23, 2009 – NorthWestern Energy today announced that is opening a temporary office in Downtown Bozeman to provide local business owners and residents with easy access to information related to the recovery effort.
The company is leasing the space located at 308 Main Street to provide the public with information about the company’s natural gas system including system integrity and safety programs. It also will serve as a meeting place for people actively engaged in the recovery process for the next several months.
“We’re opening this temporary office in response to comments that we’ve received from Downtown business owners and local residents for ongoing information and regular contact,” said Bob Rowe, President and CEO. “This step is part of a broader effort to inform, educate and demonstrate our level of commitment to our customers and communities.”
NorthWestern Energy has been working with local residents and business owners to understand their questions and concerns following the March 5 explosion. The company has developed, through more than four-dozen interviews, a comprehensive response plan to restore confidence in the company’s natural gas system. The plan includes a public outreach effort to inform and educate customers about the company’s natural gas system.
“We continue to investigate the incident and expect that it will take between three to six months to gather the necessary facts and analyze the pipe, soil, weather conditions, and customer piping in order to determine what caused the fracture at a coupling in a two inch service line,” added Rowe.
NorthWestern Energy has published a website specific to the recovery effort at http://www.bozemanrecovery.com/ and updates the site regularly as information is available. The Downtown Bozeman office is specific to the recovery effort and is not a customer payment location. The office is expected to open to the public on May 1.
About NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy is one of the largest providers of electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 650,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. For more information about NorthWestern Energy, visit our Web site at http://www.northwesternenergy.com.
Media Contact:
Claudia Rapkoch
(866) 622-8081
claudia.rapkoch@northwestern.com
Community Relations Contact:
Mel Kotur (406) 582-4637
melvin.kotur@northwestern.com