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Exhibit 4.4(j)    
  

FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL LOAN AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

CITY OF FORSYTH, ROSEBUD COUNTY, MONTANA

AND

THE MONTANA POWER COMPANY  

	 
	 	 
	 	 

	 	 	
	 	 
	

 	
 	

DATED AS OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2001	
 	

 
	

 	
 	

	
 	

 

    
 RELATING TO

CITY OF FORSYTH, ROSEBUD COUNTY, MONTANA

POLLUTION CONTROL REVENUE REFUNDING BONDS

(THE MONTANA POWER COMPANY COLSTRIP PROJECT)

SERIES 1993B  

  

 
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS    
  

	Section
 
	 	 
	 	 
	 	Page

	Recitals	 	1
	Article I	 	DEFINITIONS	 	2
	 	 	Section 1.01.	 	Definitions Contained in the Agreement	 	2
	 	 	Section 1.02.	 	New Definitions	 	2
	Article II	 	REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES	 	2
	 	 	Section 2.01.	 	Representations and Warranties of the Issuer	 	2
	 	 	Section 2.02.	 	Representations and Warranties of the Company	 	3
	Article III	 	AMENDMENT OF LOAN AGREEMENT	 	4
	 	 	Section 3.01.	 	Amendments	 	4
	Article IV	 	MISCELLANEOUS	 	6
	 	 	Section 4.01.	 	Execution of Counterparts	 	6
	 	 	Section 4.02.	 	Applicability of the Agreement	 	6
	 	 	Section 4.03.	 	Consent of the Trustee	 	6
	 	 	Section 4.04.	 	Governing Law	 	6
	 	 	Section 4.05.	 	Severability	 	6
	Signatures	 	6
	Consent of Trustee	 	8

i

        This FIRST SUPPLEMENTAL LOAN AGREEMENT, dated as of September 21, 2001, between the City of Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana, a
municipal corporation and political subdivision organized and existing under the Constitution and laws of the State of Montana (the "Issuer") and The
Montana Power Company, a Montana corporation (the "Company"), amends the Loan Agreement, dated as of December 1, 1993, between the Issuer and the
Company (the "Loan Agreement"). 

 
 

RECITALS:

        WHEREAS, the Issuer has executed and delivered an Indenture of Trust, dated as of December 1, 1993 (the
"Indenture"), in connection with the issuance by the Issuer of its Pollution Control Revenue Refunding Bonds (The Montana Power Company Colstrip
Project) Series 1993B (the "Bonds"); and 

        WHEREAS, in connection with the issuance of the Bonds, the Issuer and the Company entered into the Loan Agreement; and 

        WHEREAS, Section 10.04 of the Loan Agreement provides that the Loan Agreement may be amended only by written agreement of the
Issuer and the Company and as provided in the Indenture; and 

        WHEREAS, Section 11.06 of the Indenture provides that without the consent of or notice to the owners of the Bonds, the Issuer and
the Company may modify, alter, amend or supplement the Loan Agreement, and the Trustee may consent thereto, in connection with any change which is not materially adverse to the owners of the Bonds
provided that there shall be delivered to the Issuer and the Trustee an opinion of bond counsel stating that such modification, alteration, amendment or supplement is authorized or permitted by the
Indenture and the Act (as defined in the Indenture), complies with their respective terms, will, upon the execution and delivery thereof, be valid and binding upon the Issuer and the Company in
accordance with its terms and will not adversely affect the exemption of interest on the Bonds from federal income taxation (the "Opinion"); and 

        WHEREAS, the Company desires to amend Section 6.01 of the Loan Agreement as provided herein, there having been heretofore delivered
to the Issuer and the Trustee the Opinion required by Section 11.06 of the Indenture; and 

        WHEREAS, the parties to the Loan Agreement desire to enter into this First Supplemental Loan Agreement to make the modifications to the
Loan Agreement set forth herein. 

        NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound hereby and in consideration of the premises, do hereby agree as follows: 

 
 

ARTICLE I
  
    Definitions    
  

        Section 1.01. Definitions Contained in the Agreement.    The words and terms defined in the Loan Agreement shall for all
purposes of this First Supplemental Loan Agreement have the meanings specified in such Loan Agreement when used herein, unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 

        Section 1.02. New Definitions.    The following words and terms as used in the First Supplemental Loan Agreement shall
have the following meanings: 

        "First Supplemental Loan Agreement" means these presents as from time to time amended and supplemented. 

        "Moody's" means Moody's Investors Service, its successors and assigns, and, if such entity shall for any reason no longer perform the
functions of a securities rating agency, "Moody's" shall be deemed to refer to any other nationally-recognized rating agency designated by the Company by notice to the Issuer and the Trustee. 

        "Rating Agency" means Moody's or S&P or both of them, as the case may be. 

 

        "S&P" means Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, a Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., its successors
and assigns, and, if such entity shall for any reason no longer perform the functions of a securities rating agency, "S&P" shall be deemed to refer to any other nationally-recognized rating agency
designated by the Company by notice to the Issuer and the Trustee. 

        "Trustee" means Bank One, as trustee under the Indenture and any successor thereto. 

 
 

ARTICLE II
  
    Representations And Warranties    
  

        Section 2.01. Representations and Warranties of the Issuer.    The Issuer makes the following representations and
warranties as the basis for the undertakings on the part of the Company contained herein: 

        (a)    The
Issuer is a municipal corporation and political subdivision duly organized and existing under the Constitution and laws of the State of Montana; 

        (b)    The
Issuer has the power under the Act to enter into this First Supplemental Loan Agreement and to perform and observe the agreements and covenants on its part contained
herein and therein, and by proper corporate action has duly authorized the execution and delivery of this First Supplemental Loan Agreement; 

        (c)    The
execution and delivery of this First Supplemental Loan Agreement by the Issuer do not, and consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby and
fulfillment of the terms hereof and thereof by the Issuer will not, result in a breach of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust or
other agreement or instrument to which the Issuer is now a party or by which it is now bound, or any order, rule or regulation applicable to the Issuer of any court or of any regulatory body or
administrative agency or other governmental body having jurisdiction over the Issuer or over any of its properties, or any statute of any jurisdiction applicable to the Issuer; 

        (d)    The
Issuer has not assigned and will not assign its interest in this First Supplemental Loan Agreement other than to secure the Bonds; 

        (e)    No
consent, approval, authorization or other order of any regulatory body or administrative agency or other governmental body is legally required for the Issuer's
execution and delivery of this First Supplemental Loan Agreement; 

        (f)    The
Loan Agreement has not been previously amended or supplemented and as of the date hereof is still in full force and effect; 

        (g)    The
Indenture has not been previously amended or supplemented and as of the date hereof is still in full force and effect; and 

        (h)    Bank
One is the trustee under the Indenture. 

        Section 2.02. Representations and Warranties of the Company.    The Company makes the following representations and
warranties as the basis for the undertakings on the part of the Issuer contained herein: 

        (a)    The
Company is a corporation duly organized and existing in good standing under the laws of the State of Montana; 

        (b)    The
Company has the corporate power to enter into this First Supplemental Loan agreement and to perform and observe the agreements and covenants on its part contained
herein and by proper corporate action has duly authorized the execution and delivery hereof; 

2

 

        (c)    Neither
the execution and delivery of this First Supplemental Loan Agreement nor the fulfillment of or compliance with the terms and conditions of this First
Supplemental Loan Agreement will result in a breach of or constitute a default under any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any corporate restriction or any agreement or instrument to which the
Company is now a party or by which it is bound, or constitute a default under any of the foregoing, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance of any nature whatsoever
upon any of the property or assets of the Company prohibited under the terms of any instrument; 

        (d)    No
event has occurred and is continuing under the provisions of either the Loan Agreement, or to the knowledge of the Company, under the provisions of the Indenture,
which event now constitutes, or
with the lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, would constitute an Event of Default under either the Loan Agreement or the Indenture; 

        (e)    No
consent, approval, authorization or other order of any regulatory body or administrative agency or other governmental body is legally required for the Company's
execution and delivery of this First Supplemental Loan Agreement; 

        (f)    The
Loan Agreement has not been previously amended or supplemented and as of the date hereof is still in full force and effect; 

        (g)    The
Indenture has not been previously amended or supplemented and as of the date hereof is still in full force and effect; and 

        (h)    Bank
One is the trustee under the Indenture. 

 
 

ARTICLE III
  
    Amendment Of Loan Agreement    
  

        Section 3.01. Amendments.    Section 6.01 of the Loan Agreement is hereby amended as of the date hereof to read as
follows: 

        Section 6.01 Maintenance of Existence.  Except as permitted in this Section 6.01, the Company shall maintain its
existence as a corporation or a limited liability company, will not dissolve or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its assets and will not consolidate with or merge with or into another
corporation or limited liability company. The Company may consolidate with or merge with or into (1) a corporation incorporated under the laws of the United States of America, any state thereof
or the District of Columbia or (2) a limited liability company organized under the laws of the United States of America, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, or sell, transfer or
otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of its assets to any other entity if (a) no Event of Default under this Loan Agreement shall have occurred and be continuing, (b) the
surviving, resulting or transferee corporation or limited liability company (if other than the Company), as the case may be, prior to or simultaneously with such merger, consolidation, sale, transfer
or disposition, assumes, by delivery to the Trustee of an instrument in writing satisfactory in form to the Trustee, all the obligations of the Company hereunder and the obligations of the Company on
the First Mortgage Bonds, (c) in the case of a merger or consolidation in which the Company is not the surviving or resulting entity or in the case of such a sale, transfer or disposition, the
Company shall deliver to the Trustee an opinion of counsel to the Company
that such consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or disposition complies with the provisions of this Section 6.01, and (d) in the case of a merger or consolidation with a limited
liability company or such sale, transfer or disposition to a limited liability company, the Company shall deliver to the Trustee (i) an opinion, in form and substance satisfactory to the
Trustee, of counsel to the Company, satisfactory to the Trustee, that such consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or disposition is not materially adverse to the Owners of the Bonds, (ii) a
written certificate of the Company, in form and substance satisfactory to the Trustee, that such consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or 

3

 

disposition is not materially adverse to the Owners of the Bonds, and (iii) if the Bonds are then rated by any Rating Agency, evidence from each Rating Agency then rating the Bonds that the
ratings on the Bonds will not be reduced or withdrawn as a result of such consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or disposition. 

        If
a consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or other disposition is made as permitted by this Section 6.01, the provisions of this Section 6.01 shall continue in full force
and effect and no further consolidation, merger, sale, transfer or other disposition shall be made except in compliance with the provisions of this Section 6.01. 

 
 

ARTICLE IV
  
    Miscellaneous    
  

        Section 4.01. Execution of Counterparts.    This First Supplemental Loan Agreement may he simultaneously executed in
several counterparts, each of which shall be an original and all of which shall constitute but one and the same instrument. 

        Section 4.02. Applicability of the Agreement.    Except as amended and supplemented by this First Supplemental Loan
Agreement, all of the provisions of the Loan Agreement shall remain in full force and effect. 

        Section 4.03. Consent of the Trustee.    This First Supplemental Loan Agreement shall be submitted to the Trustee for
consent pursuant to the requirements of Section 11.06 of the Indenture. 

        Section 4.04. Governing Law.    The laws of the State of Montana shall govern the construction and enforcement of this
First Supplemental Loan Agreement. 

        Section 4.05. Severability.    In the event any provision of this First Supplemental Loan Agreement shall be held invalid
or unenforceable by any court of competent jurisdiction, such holding shall not invalidate or render unenforceable any other provision hereof. 

        IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Issuer and the Company hereto have caused this First Supplemental Loan Agreement to be executed in their
respective corporate names and their respective seals to be 

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hereunto affixed and attested by their duly authorized officers, as of the day and year first above written. 

	 	 	 	CITY OF FORSYTH, ROSEBUD COUNTY, MONTANA
	

 	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  DANIEL MURNION      
 Daniel Murnion

Mayor
	

[Seal]	
 	

 	

 
	

Attest:	
 	

 	

 
	

By	

/s/  CHERYL LUCAS      
 Cheryl Lucas

City Clerk	
 	

 	

 
	

 	

 	
 	
THE MONTANA POWER COMPANY
	

 	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  E.M. SENECHAL      
 E. M. Senechal

Treasurer

5

 
 
 

CONSENT OF TRUSTEE

        Bank
One, as Trustee under that certain Indenture of Trust, dated as of December 1, 1993, referred to in the foregoing First Supplemental Loan Agreement, hereby consents, as
required by Section 11.06 of the Indenture, to the execution by the Company and the Issuer of the attached First Supplemental Loan Agreement. 

        DATED
this 10th day of December, 2001. 

	 	 	 	BANK ONE, as Trustee under that certain Indenture of Trust, dated as of December 1, 1993
	

 	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/
 Its Vice President
	
ATTEST:	
 	

 	

 
	

By	

/s/
 Its Vice President	
 	

 	

 
	

[Seal]

	
 	

 	

 

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Exhibit 4.4(j)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

RECITALS

ARTICLE I Definitions

ARTICLE II Representations And Warranties

ARTICLE III Amendment Of Loan Agreement

ARTICLE IV Miscellaneous

CONSENT OF TRUSTEEQuickLinks
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Exhibit 4.4(K)    
  

 
 

ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT    
  

        February 13,
2002 

The
Montana Power Company

40 East Broadway

Butte, MT 59701 

Bank
One, as Trustee

1 Bank One Plaza, Mail Code 111-0126

Chicago, Illinois 60670-0126

Attn: Mr. Steve Wagner/Corporate Trustee Administration 

Ladies
and Gentlemen: 

        Reference
is made to the proposed merger (the "Merger") of The Montana Power Company, a Montana corporation (the  "Company"), into The Montana Power, L.L.C., a
Montana limited liability company ("MPC LLC"), which
Merger is expected to be completed on or about the date hereof. Upon the consummation of the Merger, MPC LLC will be the surviving entity and the successor to the Company. 

        As
required by Section 6.01 of the Loan Agreement, such Loan Agreement between the City of Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana and the Company dated as of December 1, 1993 (as
amended and supplemented by the First Supplemental Loan Agreement dated September 21 2001, the "Loan Agreement"), MPC LLC hereby assumes and
agrees to fully perform and satisfy, as successor to the Company, all obligations, liabilities and covenants of the Company under the following agreements and instruments: 

        1.    the
Loan Agreement; 

        2.    the
First Mortgage Bonds; 

        3.    the
Tax Exemption Certificate and Agreement, by and among the Issuer, the Company and the Trustee, with respect to the Bonds, dated December 30, 1993; and 

        4.    the
Project Certificate of the Company, with respect to the Bonds, dated December 30, 1993. 

        MPC
LLC makes the following representations and warranties to the Company and the Trustee: 

        (a)    MPC
LLC is a limited liability company duly organized and existing in good standing under the laws of the State of Montana; 

        (b)    MPC
LLC has the power to enter into this Assumption Agreement and to perform and observe the agreements and covenants on its part contained herein and by proper company
action has duly authorized the execution and delivery hereof; 

        (c)    Neither
the execution and delivery of this Assumption Agreement nor the fulfillment of or compliance with the terms and conditions of this Assumption Agreement will
result in a breach of or constitute a default under any of the terms, conditions or provisions of any company restriction or any agreement or instrument to which MPC LLC is now a party or by which it
is bound, or constitute a default under any of the foregoing, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance of any nature whatsoever upon any of the property or assets of
MPC LLC prohibited under the terms of any instrument; 

        (d)    No
event has occurred and is continuing under the provisions of either the Loan Agreement, or to the knowledge of MPC LLC. under the provisions of the Indenture, dated
as of December 1, 1993, between the City of Forsyth, Rosebud County, Montana and Bank One (as 

 

successor to The First National Bank of Chicago), as trustee (as amended and supplemented, the "Indenture"), which event now constitutes, or with the
lapse of time or the giving of notice, or both, would constitute an Event of Default under either the Loan Agreement or the Indenture; and 

        (e)    No
consent, approval, authorization or other order of any regulatory body or administrative agency or other governmental body is legally required for MPC LLC's execution
and delivery of this Assumption Agreement. 

        All
capitalized terms set forth herein and not otherwise defined herein are used herein as defined in the Loan Agreement. 

	 	 	 	THE MONTANA POWER, L.L.C.
	

 	

 	
 	

By:	

/s/  PATRICK T. FLEMING      
 Name: Patrick T. Fleming

Title: V.P., General Counsel & Secretary

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Exhibit 4.4(K)

ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT

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