NorthWestern Energy Provides Update on Upcoming Montana General Rate Case Filing

BUTTE, Mont., Sept. 29  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NorthWestern Energy (NYSE:NWE) today filed a motion with the Montana Public Service Commission requesting permission to delay the filing of its anticipated general rate case up to one month while it reviews the implications of recently received Internal Revenue Service approval to change the tax accounting method related to capital expenditures and repair expenses.

NorthWestern was notified last Friday that the IRS had accepted a tax position advocated by NorthWestern to change the tax accounting method related to certain capital expenditures and repair expenses. Pursuant to that notification, NorthWestern has forty-five (45) days to formally accept the IRS notification. NorthWestern is currently reviewing the impact of this tax accounting change both internally and externally with its outside tax accounting firm, and anticipates that it will formally accept the IRS position.

Initial analysis of the impact of this tax accounting change reveals a potentially substantial material reduction to current income tax expense and a corresponding reduction to the revenue requirement NorthWestern will be proposing in its general rate case filing. Within the next few weeks, NorthWestern plans to incorporate the new tax accounting change into its general rate case application, re-work the statements, work-papers and testimony accordingly, and file the general rate case application as soon as possible, but by no later than October 30, 2009.

About NorthWestern Energy

NorthWestern Energy provides electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 656,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.  More information on NorthWestern Energy is available on the Company's Web site at http://www.northwesternenergy.com/. 

DATASOURCE: NorthWestern Energy



CONTACT:  Media, Claudia Rapkoch, 1-866-622-8081,

, or Investor Relations, Dan Rausch,

[phone], , both of NorthWestern Energy



Web Site:  http://www.northwesternenergy.com/ 

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