Issue
Strong Energy Future
Reliable and affordable energy affects nearly every part of life in Montana. Homes need dependable heat and electricity during severe winter weather. Farmers, ranchers, and businesses depend on energy for operations. Communities need adequate generation and transmission capacity as demand grows.
Why This Matters in Montana
Montana's Energy Policy and the Energy Task Force
Montana has made energy reliability and affordability a major statewide policy issue. The State of Montana created an Energy Task Force in 2025 specifically to examine how Montana can increase the supply of affordable and reliable energy.
The task force examined electric generation, increasing demand, transmission infrastructure, energy markets, grid utilization, utility regulation, infrastructure development, and consumer energy costs. Its 2026 final recommendations included an all-of-the-above approach to Montana's energy portfolio — recognizing that no single energy source can meet all of Montana's needs.
Montana has significant energy resources including coal, natural gas, hydroelectric power, wind, and solar. State policy must consider reliability (keeping the lights on), affordability (keeping costs manageable for households and businesses), generation capacity (having enough power to meet demand), transmission (moving power from where it's generated to where it's needed), economic development (the jobs and revenue that energy production creates), environmental stewardship, and consumer costs.
Montana and North Dakota have also received federal support for major grid modernization projects intended to improve power reliability and transmission capacity across the region. Modernizing the grid is essential for integrating new generation sources and ensuring that power can be delivered reliably across long distances.
Why This Matters in House District 42
Energy in Southeastern Montana
House District 42 sits in a region with significant energy resources. Southeastern Montana has coal, oil, and natural gas resources that have historically supported jobs and community revenue in Big Horn County and surrounding areas.
Rural energy reliability is a direct quality-of-life issue for HD 42 residents. Severe winter weather — with temperatures that can drop well below zero — makes reliable heating essential. Power outages in rural areas can be dangerous and difficult to address quickly given the distances involved.
Agricultural operations in the district depend on energy for equipment, irrigation, grain drying, livestock operations, and transportation. Energy costs are a significant input cost for farming and ranching operations.
Household utility costs affect family budgets across the district. For lower-income households, energy costs represent a significant share of monthly expenses. Keeping energy affordable is directly connected to quality of life and economic security.
Tribal economic development opportunities in the energy sector are significant. The Crow Nation has substantial coal resources and has explored energy development as a source of tribal economic revenue. State energy policy affects the economic development options available to tribal communities.
Transmission reliability — the ability to move power reliably across the region — affects both energy costs and reliability for HD 42 communities. Infrastructure investment in transmission can improve reliability and potentially reduce costs.
Chip's Documented Experience & Record
Legislative Service and Local Context
Chip Fitzpatrick served in the Montana Legislature and participated in votes affecting Montana's economy, infrastructure, and regulatory environment. His background as a county commissioner and business owner gives him a practical understanding of how energy costs and reliability affect rural communities and small businesses.
His experience in Big Horn County — a region with significant energy resources — gives him direct familiarity with the economic dimensions of energy production and the importance of energy policy to the communities he represents.
For verified information on specific energy-related votes from the 2025 session, visit the Montana Legislature's official website and search for Representative Fitzpatrick's voting record.
"Energy policy in Montana is ultimately about keeping homes, farms, businesses, and communities supplied with dependable power at costs families and employers can afford."