NorthWestern Energy donated $25,000 to the American Red Cross to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. In addition, the company’s local charitable giving teams provided approximately $20,000 to match employee and retiree donations to the relief effort.

“We have all been moved by the images of the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and the southern parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. The need to help the victims of this national tragedy is enormous, and our donation will help the Red Cross provide the supplies and services that will be needed in the weeks and months yet to come,” said Mike Hanson, president and CEO of NorthWestern Energy. “Our employees have already scheduled fundraising activities and blood drives in support of the relief efforts and intend to provide more than $65,000 in combined financial support by the end of the month.”

NorthWestern Energy’s charitable donation activities are managed by employee-teams in 17 major office locations. The teams are pooling their resources to provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds to encourage employee and retiree donations to the relief effort.

NorthWestern Energy is one of the largest providers of electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 617,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.