Missoula Looks To “Electrify The Big Sky”

There's something about making your voice heard (says the guy who works in radio!) that allows not only expression of ideas but finally releases that natural dopamine that usually accompanies the experience.

Missoula Electric Cooperative will host their annual Electrify The Big Sky conference on September 13th, 2022. Held once a year, it's a chance for MEC, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and Western Montana citizens like you to separate fact from fiction on issues regarding consumer choices and "beneficial electrification" - more on that further down.

They want you to be there as well, especially since last year's conference was postponed to 2022.

The event will be held at UM's University Center Ballroom in Missoula. The conference will cover a wide range of topics, including:

• electric vehicle adoption in Montana
• upgrades currently available for homes
• renewable energy sources
• energy storage options for homeowners

What Is Beneficial Electrification?

Simply put, it's using electricity to improve the quality of our lives. Our current energy grid relies heavily on fossil fuels like propane and gasoline; if we could find a way to reduce that reliance on fossil fuels and replace them with a technology we know is clean and good for the environment (hi, electricity!) supporters foresee a happier and more productive existence for Planet Earth and everyone who lives on it.

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One of the speakers at ETBS will be Jim Horan, Executive Director of Mid-West Energy Consumers. Horan will give his and Mid-West's take on beneficial electrification:

...we've always used electricity for a variety of end-use applications, beneficial electrification looks at end uses that meet one of a few conditions without impacting the others.

The conditions we look at are [saving] consumers money over time, benefits to the environment and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

Missoula Electric Cooperative is already taking great strides in bringing beneficial electrification to Montana. They opened a Level 3 electric vehicle charging station in Seeley Lake in July 2022 with a grant from the DEQ. The charging station is the only one on State Highway 83 connecting Clearwater and Big Fork.

Related: Montana's EV Charging Boom

If you'd like to attend Electrify The Big Sky with a friend on September 13th, fill out the form below and we'll select four (4) winners this Thursday, August 25th. Admission is free for UM students, everyone else normally pays $20/ea to attend.