As energy producers struggle to come up with nonpolluting alternative sources of electricity, disputes over just who pays what are bound to occur. One such case surfaced before the Public Service Commission this week.

The case before the PSC involved a dispute between small wind-power generator Two Dot Wind and NorthWestern Energy. NorthWestern says that such operations should have to pay the cost of "integrating" their power into the utility's power grid, which must be bolstered by purchasing electricity from other sources when the winds aren't blowing. The wind generator, on the other hand, questioned whether adding their electricity to the system really costs anything at all.

Although the PSC has yet to take formal action, it appears some sort of integration fee will be approved, probably a smaller amount than NorthWestern is seeking.

NorthWestern, quite rightly, contends that its integration costs, if not reimbursed by wind-power companies, will be passed on to consumers. "It is not NorthWestern customers' responsibility to make a business venture work," said John Hines, chief supply officer for NorthWestern.

But wind-power providers say that NorthWestern already pays them less than market value for their electricity, and that the additional fees sought by the utility would make it all but impossible for them to do business in Montana -- thus shutting down all future wind development.

We are confident that the PSC will come up with a fair deal for Montana consumers and the disputing parties. But the need for innovative clean energy sources has to be a top priority. We can't allow quibbles over pricing to derail us from that overriding goal.