- Montana Power Company
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Montana Power Company Former type Public (NYSE: MTP later TAA)[1] Industry Electric utility Fate Bankrupt Founded 1912 Founder(s) John Ryan Defunct 2003 Headquarters Butte, Montana, U.S. Area served Montana The Montana Power Company (MPC) was an electric utility company based in Butte, Montana which provided electricity to Montana consumers and industry from 1912 to 1997.
History
The Montana Power Company was founded in 1912 by John Ryan, then president of Anaconda Copper Mining Company, as a consolidation of several hydroelectric plants in Montana.[2]
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, with plans to develop coal-fired electrical generation plants there.[2]
After developing four plants, MPC sold its Colstrip power plants in the fall of 1997 to Pennsylvania Power and Light for $759 million. The remaining power operations were sold to Northwestern Energy.[2]
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 21,000-mile (34,000 km) fiber optics network and incurred heavy losses during the dot-com downturn in the early 2000s. Touch America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2003, selling its facilities to 360 Networks with plans to sell off remaining assets to defend against shareholder lawsuits.[1][3][4] Litigation over the company's assets continues as of 2008.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Montana Power Restructures From Diversified Energy Company to Touch America Holdings, a Broadband Telecommunications Company." (Press release). Montana Power Company. February 14, 2002. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-25035826_ITM.
- ^ a b c "Montana Power Co.: GENERATIONS OF POWER: History of Montana Power Co.", The Missoulan (2001)
- ^ "COMPANY NEWS; TOUCH AMERICA FILES CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY PAPERS". The New York Times. June 21, 2003. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01EEDF173BF932A15755C0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ Steve Kroft (August 10, 2003). "Who Killed Montana Power?". 60 Minutes. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/06/60minutes/main539719.shtml. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ Susan Gallagher; AP (April 19, 2008). "Former Montana Power executive named CEO for Idaho company". AG Weekly. http://www.agweekly.com/articles/2008/04/19/news/ag_news/news51.txt. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
External links
- Missoulian Special Section: Montana Power Co. Generations of Power
- "A High Tech Company You Never Heard Of", column by Bill Mann, The Motley Fool (September 29, 1999)
- "How Big Sky Went Dark", op-ed by Deirdre McNamer, The New York Times (April 6, 2008).
- Guide to the Montana Power Company Papers at the University of Montana This collection consists of blueprints, drawings and maps and bound volumes of financial records from the Missoula steam plant.
Categories:- Defunct companies based in Montana
- Companies established in 1912
- Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Defunct telecommunications companies of the United States
- Power companies of the United States
- Companies disestablished in 2003
- Companies based in Montana
- Hydroelectric power companies of the United States
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