Several prominent Montana conservation groups say they believe a majority of Montanans support a national clean-energy policy, and thus support some type of "cap-and-trade" legislation.

"The biggest thing for Montanans is, this is going to create jobs," said Jackie Boyle, the Montana spokeswoman for Repower America. "This is in line with what Gov. Schweitzer is trying to do (on clean energy); this is where we've been going."

Some coalition members also said Tuesday that the state's largest utility, NorthWestern Energy, is putting out mixed messages on cap-and-trade legislation.

Boyle said the groups aren't trying to pick a fight with NorthWestern Energy, which they believe supports clean-energy development. But the company's August newsletter included a warning that the cap-and-trade bill passed in June by the U.S. House would increase household customers' bills by $225 a year. Boyle said that focuses only on potential negative aspects of clean-energy legislation.

"What is confusing to us, and the public, is where exactly is NorthWestern's position?" she said. "Are they against (the House bill), or against clean-energy legislation?"

NorthWestern spokeswoman Claudia Rapkoch said the utility, which has 320,000 electric and natural gas customers in Montana, is merely trying to educate consumers about potential impacts of and problems with the initial cap-and-trade bill.

The cap-and-trade bill passed by the U.S. House sets a national limit or "cap" on atmospheric greenhouse gases, which cause global warming. It then distributes credits or "allowances" to industries that emit these gases, other related industries and lower-income households.

The industries either must reduce their emissions or buy credits from other holders, to meet or stay under the caps.

The House bill is now before the U.S. Senate, which is expected to write a much different clean-energy bill, but one that may pursue the same principles.

NorthWestern has said it won't get enough allowances under the House bill, forcing it to buy allowances and thus increase its costs, which would be passed on to customers in the form of higher energy bills. NorthWestern gets a substantial amount of its power from coal-fired power plants, which are big emitters of carbon-dioxide (CO2), the primary greenhouse gas.

Boyle and other members of the coalition acknowledged Tuesday that a cap-and-trade bill would increase the cost of carbon-based energy.

But they said if nothing is done to address global warming and foster more renewable, clean power and energy conservation, Montanans will be worse off, paying still higher prices for energy and suffering the effects of a hotter, drier climate.

"Clean-energy legislation would stabilize (energy prices) and make them sustainable in the long run," said Chuck Magraw, a Helena attorney representing the Natural Resources Defense Council. "If we do nothing, it gets worse, not better. It's not going to solve itself."

Magraw said cap-and-trade legislation also generates revenue that would help lower-income households offset some price increases, as well as fund research to develop carbon-capture technology, which could enable development of Montana's coal.

Boyle said the groups, which include Montana Audubon and Montana Wildlife Federation, have been emphasizing to Democratic U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus that Montanans support clean-energy legislation.

Republican Denny Rehberg, the state's only U.S. House member, voted against the cap-and-trade bill and has spoken against it, calling it "cap and tax." He says the bill taxes traditional energy development, and that he favors a policy of developing all energy sources.

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