Questions remain about the pension funds of Colstrip employees as Colstrip operator and co-owner Talen Montana enters bankruptcy, the Billings Gazette reported. Talen Montana, in a lawsuit separate from its May 9 bankruptcy filing, says it’s still owed hundreds of millions of dollars from Talen’s Colstrip predecessor, PPL, and lacks adequate funds to cover pension and environmental remediation obligations. The lawsuit reiterates claims first made in a 2018 class action lawsuit filed by the Talen Montana Retirement Plan and Talen Energy Marketing in Rosebud County. The pension fund isn't fully financed, Talen confirmed Wednesday, though it expects it will be by 2025. Talen claims that PPL wrongfully took $733 million of the net proceeds from the sale of its Montana hydroelectric dams before spinning off its coal power properties to Talen Montana in 2015. PPL sold its Montana hydroelectric dams to NorthWestern Energy in 2014.
