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Butte, MT. – May 21, 2020 – Today NorthWestern Energy announced another $100,000 in aid to assist the communities we serve working to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing our aid to the crisis recovery efforts to $400,000. This is in addition to NorthWestern Energy’s annual charitable donations, economic development, local sponsorships and employee match programs, which were more than $2 million in 2019.

“The response to the COVID-19 pandemic is being defined by our support for one another,” said NorthWestern Energy President and CEO Bob Rowe. “This crisis means many of those who have always been the backbone of communities now need assistance.”

NorthWestern Energy’s aid will provide grants in the form of energy bill credits for some of our small business customers as they weather the months-long severe impact of communities working to slow the spread of COVID-19. This aid will help free up resources for small businesses as they recover and provide employment for members of our communities.

“This aid will be distributed to locally owned small businesses that didn’t receive a grant from NorthWestern Energy’s previous aid package,” Rowe said. “Small businesses are critical to the health of the economies of the communities we serve.”

NorthWestern Energy will also match employee donations to the Montana State Chamber of Commerce Foundation, South Dakota Community Foundation and Nebraska Community Foundation, all of which are providing assistance and resources for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis.

“Our employees are always eager to step forward to help our communities when in need,” said Rowe. “This time is no different with employees again going above and beyond to help our customers and the places they live and work.”

In April NorthWestern Energy provided $300,000 in aid, available immediately, for small businesses and local organizations providing COVID-19 relief. We matched employee donations to organizations providing emergency assistance for members of our communities experiencing difficulty paying their residential energy bills.

The additional $100,000 of support is targeted to small businesses. NorthWestern Energy has been able to work with public and non-profit agencies to target other resources for residential customers.

One of NorthWestern Energy’s first actions in early March was to voluntarily suspend service disconnections and late fees for households and small businesses facing hardship because of the pandemic.

NorthWestern Energy encourages customers to contact us now to set up payment arrangements if they are concerned about their ability to pay their bill, so they are not faced with large balances later this year. NorthWestern Energy customers who have questions about their service or bills can call 888-467-2669 or 800-245-6977.

NorthWestern Energy offers several options to pay energy bills online, which can be found at northwesternenergy.com under the Account Services tab.

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About NorthWestern Energy (Nasdaq: NWE)
NorthWestern provides electricity and / or natural gas to approximately 743,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska. We have generated and distributed electricity in South Dakota and distributed natural gas in South Dakota and Nebraska since 1923 and have generated and distributed electricity and distributed natural gas in Montana since 2002. More information on NorthWestern is available on the company’s website at www.northwesternenergy.com.

Media Contacts:
Jo Dee Black
866-622-8081
jodee.black@northwestern.com