NorthWestern Energy has one of the largest, and most rural, service areas in the United States, taking in most of Montana and South Dakota. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Bob Rowe, who is the President and CEO of Northwest Energy, about the challenges of delivering power in rural America. 

“The entire West is concerned about the ability to meet peak. Within the Pacific Northwest, that concern has, for a number of years, been more acute, but for us the arrow has been at red really going back to our 2015 electric supply plan.”

We’ll hear how NorthWestern Energy is balancing the demand for power with its objective of providing affordable, reliable, and environmentally responsible energy. Mr. Rowe also explains the impact of setting up microgrids in sparsely populated areas.

Bob Rowe has been the President and Chief Executive Officer at NorthWestern Energy since August of 2008. Mr. Rowe has 20-plus years of energy and utility industry experience. He is Co-Chair of the Institute for Electric Innovation, an Institute of the Edison Foundation focused on advancing the adoption of innovative and efficient technologies among electric utilities and their technology partners that will transform the power grid.  He is the former chairman and commissioner of the Montana Public Service Commission, and served as president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.