Montana
Montana's early-stage data-center fight sharpened in mid-2026 around NorthWestern Energy's proposed large-load tariff and 2026 IRP (three data-center LOIs from 150 MW to over 1,000 MW), a contested MPSC proceeding, and an MT-01 congressional primary where the issue featured (Parsons Behle, MEIC, Montana Free Press live blog).
ILens Signals
Civic/Governance Barriers activates on moratorium-class action (C1), meaningful 2026 race (C3) — governance instruments on the electoral, legislative, and regulatory surface (protocol §10; Overview Civic breakout). Capital Flows/Insurability is a strong secondary stressor: the entire MPSC fight is about whether data-center load shifts costs and stranded-asset risk onto existing NorthWestern ratepayers, driving the demand for a separate customer class and 'Very Large Customer' approval track (Montana Free Press, Parsons Behle). Energy/Power (load exceeding system peak) is the primary driver; Water/Geology is secondary.
IIKey 2026 Races
U.S. House MT-01: Sam Forstag won the June 2, 2026 Democratic primary (~37%) over Ryan Busse (~33%), Russell Cleveland (~22%), and Matt Rains (~8%); candidates engaged data centers in forums (transparency vs. skepticism). Forstag faces Republican Aaron Flint in November (Montana Free Press live blog, MT SoS results).
IIIMoratorium · Ban Status
No statewide or consequential enacted local moratorium. A March 2026 op-ed by Democratic Rep. Scott Rosenzweig urged a four-year state moratorium, but that is advocacy, not law (Blaze Media covers a separate city; the four-year call is advocacy per prior reporting rather than an enacted action).
IVRatepayer · Cost-Shift Legislation
No 2026 statute (Montana's Legislature is biennial; next meets 2027). The action is at the MPSC: NorthWestern Energy filed a data-center/large-load tariff proposal (Feb. 2026) and its 2026 IRP (filed April 30, 2026) proposing a Large New Load (LNL) rule classifying customers >=50 MW as 'Very Large Customers' requiring MPSC approval before service; MEIC and allied groups sought intervention (Parsons Behle, MEIC, News From The States). Advocates earlier petitioned the PSC for a separate data-center customer class/tariff (Montana Free Press).
VBallot Measures
None identified.
VITop Contested Sites
NorthWestern has executed letters of intent with three data-center developers for loads ranging from 150 MW to over 1,000 MW (against ~760 MW average daily peak) — the modeled 1,160 MW scenario would exceed current system load (Parsons Behle).
VIITalent · Workforce
Not a prominent 2026 dimension; the debate is dominated by ratepayer cost-shift and grid-capacity concerns (Montana Free Press).
VIIIData Center Cluster Size
Emerging — a handful of large proposed projects tied to NorthWestern LOIs rather than a built cluster (Parsons Behle).
IXKey Quote
The MPSC proceeding asks "Who wants a say in power rates for Montana data centers?" as regulators open the docket to public input (Montana Free Press).