BILLINGS — ExxonMobil is suing NorthWestern Energy, saying power outages at the energy giant’s Billings refinery have cost the company millions of dollars.
The Billings Gazette reports that in the lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Billings, Exxon accuses NorthWestern of being negligent in preventing the outages.
The Exxon refinery gets electricity from two NorthWestern Energy substations and has no alternative power supply. According to the lawsuit, NorthWestern also diverted power away from the refinery, forcing it to shut down.
Exxon has requested payment for damages but did not specify an amount.
Representatives from Exxon and NorthWestern declined to comment further on the lawsuit.