Gov. Greg Gianforte’s Energy Task Force will hold its final public open house in Colstrip on April 15, wrapping up a three-city listening tour that has taken the group to Butte and Miles City in recent months.
The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Business Innovation Center at 6200 Main Street. There will be no formal presentation. Instead, residents will have the opportunity to speak directly with task force members and state agency staff stationed at tables to discuss their regulatory roles in energy development and answer questions on a range of energy topics.
The Colstrip stop carries particular symbolic weight. The eastern Montana town is home to one of the region’s last remaining coal-fired power plants and has been at the center of debates over Montana’s energy future for years, making it a fitting location for the task force’s final public forum.
Gov. Gianforte established the Energy Task Force by executive order in September 2025, directing the bipartisan group to develop recommendations and strategies for increasing the supply of affordable and reliable energy in Montana. The task force meets regularly and is expected to deliver written reports to the governor in September 2026 and January 2027.
The open houses in Butte on February 25 and Miles City on March 24 preceded the Colstrip event.
By: DNU staff