Western meeting to focus on energy

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Gov. Brian Schweitzer is making reliable energy a priority for his administration and plans to broaden the spotlight this week with a Western energy conference expected to draw about 600 participants, including at least five governors.

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is among those scheduled to participate.

"The Montana Symposium: Energy Future of the West" kicks off Tuesday in Bozeman and features more than two dozen panels on a wide range of topics, including skyrocketing energy prices, the economic impact of energy development, environmental concerns, coal-to-gas technology and tribal perspectives on energy development.

Sponsors of the two-day symposium at Montana State University include energy companies and utilities National Grid, Encore, Itron, Montana-Dakota Utilities, NorthWestern Energy and PPL Montana; the Montana Electric Cooperatives' Association; BNSF Railway; the Natural Resources Defense Council; Montanans for Responsible Energy Development; and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Baucus agreed to help raise $5,000 from various sources, spokesman Barrett Kaiser said.

A highlight of the conference will be a panel Tuesday evening featuring Schweitzer, Huntsman, Govs. Dave Freudenthal of Wyoming, Christine Gregoire of Washington, Ted Kulongoski of Oregon and possibly Joe Manchin III of West Virginia. Manchin was invited because his state is a leading coal producer and Schweitzer wants him to talk about effects of coal development.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Suedeen Kelly and Bonneville Power Administration chief executive Steve Wright will speak at the symposium's opening session Tuesday morning.

"I think (the symposium) will give a good, overall view of energy policy," said Doug Hardy, who manages Park Electric Cooperative in Livingston and will represent the Montana Electric Cooperatives' Association as a panelist. "So often, different aspects of energy policy are looked at without consideration for how they interact with other policies in different areas."

A leading Republican state lawmaker, petroleum engineer Roy Brown of Billings, said he wondered if the speakers might be "loaded toward the alternative-energy side of things."

Rancher Helen Waller of Circle, who is in the environmental group Northern Plains Resource Council, said she is concerned the panel discussions will be "dominated by the industry side."

The Montana Environmental Information Center's Anne Hedges, who plans to attend, said what emerges from the symposium "remains to be seen."

"I think it's a good idea to bring everyone together and . . . see what the issues are and where we go from here," she said. "We have serious concerns about coal development, but there are other types of energy, and we hope those issues get out on the table."