City officials have been contacted by residents, businesses and organizations regarding NorthWestern Energy’s notice of its public safety power shutoff plan.

On July 23, NorthWestern announced it was in the earliest stage of the public safety power shutoff plan, which involved monitoring weather.

NorthWestern has stated that if an area will be impacted by a potential shutoff, the company will notify residents multiple times throughout the process by automated phone calls and emails before power is turned off and after it is restored, according to a city release.

According to the city, NorthWestern’s notice is more likely for those outside the city, but being prepared for emergencies such a power outages or wildfires is “strongly encouraged. Households should discuss evacuation routes, meeting locations, emergency supplies and how they will receive emergency alerts and warnings.”

Information is available to create an emergency plan here.

City officials said that after NorthWestern’s notification, it was clarified that if a planned outage is needed for public safety, it will likely be in wildfire-prone rural areas and the impact on city residents would likely be minimal compared to rural locations.

The city is encouraging residents to review information about NorthWestern’s public safety shutoff plan, the stages of such a shutoff event and the map, which is all available here.

NorthWestern Energy has an emergency phone line, staffed 24/7.

For those with emergent questions or can’t access the website, can call that line at 1-888-467-2669.

Residents are encouraged to make sure NorthWestern has their most current contact information by logging into My Energy Account or by calling the phone number listed above.

The city is also encouraging community members to sign up for CodeRED, an emergency notification service that allows officials to notify residents and businesses regarding time-sensitive emergency notifications.

NorthWestern said July 23 that is was monitoring the high winds combined with high temperatures and low humidity forecasted for July 25.

There are no planned outages at this time, according to the company, but if a planned power outage is needed for public safety, it would like be in wildfire-prone areas outside Bozeman, Butte, Helena or Great Falls.

In a July 24 update, NorthWestern said there were no shutoffs planned.

“Based on assessment of the forecasted conditions, we are confident that a public safety power shutoff is not imminent for any of our Montana customers at this time. As we do throughout the fire season, we will continue to monitor, analyze and assess wildfire conditions,” the company said.

Public safety power shutoffs are “an important new defense that has been added to our wildfire mitigation efforts. It is important to know that it is a ‘defense of last resort.’ PSPS is the defense that will be employed when conditions are expected to be so severe, that all other defenses are deemed insufficient,” according to NorthWestern.