Why has Montana’s energy fallen behind?
State Sen. Barry Usher, R-Billings, made some great points in his recent editorial, as he pointed out that Montana isn’t ready for electric vehicles. Sen. Usher is correct that Montana’s electricity system has fallen behind, leaving us unprepared for modern technologies.
Usher noted that Montana’s power grid is strained. I suppose one solution would be to never add any new electricity uses so we can preserve our precarious status quo. But other states are taking a different approach: They’re improving their grids to get ready for the new ways we Americans are using energy. Compared to other states, where does Montana rank for efforts to modernize our electrical grid? We’re in 50th place.
Electricity use isn’t steady throughout the day – it generally peaks in the early evening when people come home from work, cook dinner and heat or cool their homes. These peaks can be problematic during severe weather, as California and Texas have seen. But these states decided to take action. They built utility-scale batteries which soak up surplus (and cheap) energy during the day, then release it during the (expensive) peaks. Batteries save money so they’re quickly being adopted by utilities all over the country.
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