BUTTE - NorthWestern Corporation d/b/a NorthWestern Energy (Nasdaq: NWE) reported financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

Net income for the period was $63.1 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, as compared with net income of $50.7 million, or $1.00 per diluted share, for the same period in 2020. This increase was primarily due to improved gross margin from colder winter weather and lower operating costs, partly offset by higher Montana electric supply costs and depreciation expense, and lower income tax benefit.

'First quarter operating and financial results were solid and a great start to a new year,' said Bob Rowe, Chief Executive Officer. 'The February extreme cold weather event that that hammered much of the country once again highlighted the importance of a safe, reliable and resilient energy grid and adequate electric and natural gas capacity. Just yesterday, we announced the projects that will be the first steps in addressing our capacity deficit in Montana. The February cold snap resulted in severe economic and personal disruption in a broad section of the country, including brown-outs and black-outs, and significant increases in electric and natural gas costs, driving liquidity issues for many utilities. We were able to navigate the event with minimal disruption to our customers and manageable balance sheet strain. We are proud of how our people and our infrastructure performed when customers needed us most.'

COVID-19 Pandemic

We are one of many companies providing essential services during the national emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our level of service to our 743,000 customers remains uninterrupted. We implemented a comprehensive set of actions to help our customers, communities, and employees, while maintaining our commitments to provide reliable service and to continue to monitor and adapt our financial business plan for the evolving COVID-19 pandemic challenges. We have taken extra precautions for our employees who work in the field and for employees who continue to work in our facilities. This includes implementation of work from home policies, social-distancing protocols, face-covering directives, and travel restrictions where appropriate. We continue to implement strong physical and cyber-security measures to enable our systems to continue to serve our operational needs with a remote workforce and to keep our company running to provide high quality service to our customers.

We continue to work with customers who have been unable to pay during the COVID-19 pandemic, including offering extended payment arrangements. In each of our jurisdictions, we have experienced a significant improvement in our past due customer account balances that peaked during the third quarter of 2020. We are subject to certain annual winter disconnection procedures, which were in effect from November 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021.

The future impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic remain uncertain. Further extension of the slowdown of the United States' economic growth, demand for commodities and/or material changes in governmental policy may continue to result in lower economic growth with lower demand for electricity and natural gas, as well as reduced ability of various customers, contractors, suppliers and other business partners to fulfill their obligations. These impacts could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

Regulatory Update

We do not expect to make general rate case filings in any of our regulatory jurisdictions during 2021. On April 15, 2021, we filed a request to delay the implementation of our fixed cost recovery mechanism pilot in our Montana jurisdiction for another year until July 2022 or beyond, due to the continued uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic. We anticipate making several other regulatory filings, primarily in our Montana jurisdiction, including: An April 21, 2021 filing requesting approval to increase the forecasted costs used to develop rates for the recovery of electric power costs through our Power Cost and Credit Adjustment Mechanism (PCCAM) by approximately $17 million, and A May 2021 filing requesting approval to acquire electric capacity resources identified through our January 2020 RFP.

About NorthWestern Energy

NorthWestern Corporation, doing business as NorthWestern Energy, provides essential energy infrastructure and valuable services that enrich lives and empower communities while serving as long-term partners to our customers and communities. We are working to deliver safe, reliable, and innovative energy solutions that create value for customers, communities, employees, and investors. This includes bridging our history as a regulated utility safely providing low-cost and reliable service with our future as a globally-aware company offering a broader array of services performed by highly-adaptable and skilled employees. We provide electricity and / or natural gas to approximately 743,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and Yellowstone National Park. We have provided service in South Dakota and Nebraska since 1923 and in Montana since 2002.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP, as well as other financial measures, such as Gross Margin, Adjusted Non-GAAP Pre-Tax Income, Adjusted Non-GAAP Net Income and Adjusted Non-GAAP Diluted EPS, that are considered 'non-GAAP financial measures.' Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's financial performance, financial position or cash flows that exclude (or include) amounts that are included in (or excluded from) the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP.

We define Gross Margin as Revenues less Cost of Sales as presented in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income. Management believes that Gross Margin (revenues less cost of sales) provides a useful measure for investors and other financial statement users to analyze our financial performance in that it excludes the effect on total revenues caused by volatility in energy costs and associated regulatory mechanisms. This information is intended to enhance an investor's overall understanding of results. Under our various state regulatory mechanisms, as detailed below, our supply costs are generally collected from customers. In addition, Gross Margin is used by us to determine whether we are collecting the appropriate amount of energy costs from customers to allow for recovery of operating costs, as well as to analyze how changes in loads (due to weather, economic or other conditions), rates and other factors impact our results of operations. Our Gross Margin measure may not be comparable to that of other companies' presentations or more useful than the GAAP information provided elsewhere in this report.

Management also believes the presentation of Adjusted Non-GAAP pre-tax income, net income and Diluted EPS is more representative of normal earnings than GAAP pre-tax income, net income and EPS due to the exclusion (or inclusion) of certain impacts that are not reflective of ongoing earnings. The presentation of these non-GAAP measures is intended to supplement investors' understanding of our financial performance and not to replace other GAAP measures as an indicator of actual operating performance. Our measures may not be comparable to other companies' similarly titled measures.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the 'safe harbor' provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, the information under 'Significant Items Not Contemplated in Earnings'. Forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' or 'will.' These statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. Our actual future business and financial performance may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: adverse determinations by regulators, as well as potential adverse federal, state, or local legislation or regulation, including costs of compliance with existing and future environmental requirements, could have a material effect on our liquidity, results of operations and financial condition; changes in availability of trade credit, creditworthiness of counterparties, usage, commodity prices, fuel supply costs or availability due to higher demand, shortages, weather conditions, transportation problems or other developments, may reduce revenues or may increase operating costs, each of which could adversely affect our liquidity and results of operations; unscheduled generation outages or forced reductions in output, maintenance or repairs, which may reduce revenues and increase cost of sales or may require additional capital expenditures or other increased operating costs and adverse changes in general economic and competitive conditions in the U.S. financial markets and in our service territories.

Our 2020 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, reports on Form 8-K and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings discuss some of the important risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:

Travis Meyer

Tel: (605) 978-2967

Email: travis.meyer@northwestern.com

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