News Releases

Since 1910, Rainbow Dam has provided clean, renewable energy from the power of the Missouri River near Great Falls. After three-and-a-half years of construction, a new Rainbow hydroelectric plant has begun a second century of production.

“PPL Montana is proud to invest in the state of Montana and make responsible use of our state’s valuable natural resources,” said Pete Simonich, vice president and Chief Operating Officer of PPL Montana. “We thank everyone who was involved in the design and construction of this project, and appreciate the outstanding support we have received at every step along the way.”

PPL Montana’s $209 million Rainbow project is the largest single private investment in Cascade County’s history. It created more than 200 local construction jobs, spurred business activity and boosted the local economy. With the project complete, the company also expects to qualify for investment tax credits or a federal grant made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The incentives were a major factor in the company’s decision to build the facility after it was delayed in 2008 due to the financial crisis.

With a single, 60-megawatt unit in the new powerhouse, PPL Montana increased the amount of clean, renewable power it generates at Rainbow by 70 percent. Smaller units, installed between 1910 and 1930 with a combined capacity of 35 megawatts, were replaced with the single unit that can generate enough electricity to power about 45,000 homes. The new unit completed testing this month and began commercial operation on April 22.

“This is an exciting moment for our employees,” said Jeremy Clotfelter, manager of Hydro Operations and Management for PPL Montana. “We are looking forward to the next phase of generating power at Rainbow.”

In addition to the expansion of the plant, PPL Montana completed a $38 million Great Falls 100-kilovolt interconnection project, which will improve the reliability and efficiency of the electrical systems connecting PPL Montana’s five Great Falls hydro plants to NorthWestern Energy’s grid.

The project involved replacing more than 23 miles of 100-kilovolt power lines and structures, upgrading the substations at each plant, installing a new Crooked Falls switchyard to improve transmission system reliability and installing a new generation control center to provide remote operation of PPL Montana’s Great Falls hydroelectric plants and improve control, communications and reliability.

Other environmental benefits include a new turbine with wider flow passages and fewer rotating surfaces, making it easier for fish to pass through unharmed.

PPL Montana provides safe, reliable energy from coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL Montana and its 500 employees are dedicated to Montana and its communities, supporting educational, environmental and economic development programs across the state. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power for PPL Montana in wholesale and retail energy markets throughout the western United States. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL). More information about PPL Montana is available at www.pplmontana.com.