Montana Power Company

The Montana Power Company was formed on December 12, 1912, in Butte through the merger of the Butte Electric and Power Company with three of its subsidiaries: the Madison River Power Company, the Billings and Eastern Montana Power Company, and the Missoula River Power Company. A few months later, the two remaining large power producers in Montana, the Great Falls Water Power and Townsite Company, and the Thompson Falls Power Company, were taken into the company by acquisition of stock control. The properties owned by the formerly independent small companies included hydroelectric generating plants steam electric plants; many also had contracts to provide power for street railways, mills, and other interests. Montana Power Company continued to acquire companies after 1912, adding approximately fifty more companies by the early 1950s.

The company has since expanded into related businesses, including natural gas, oil, and coal, and providing telecommunications services. In 2000, it sold its generating and transmission assets in Montana and became Touch America, a telecommunications company.

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