Divisions: Public Utilities

The Public Service Commission regulates investor-owned electric, gas, and telecommunication utilities through its Public Utilities Division. Intrastate regulatory jurisdiction is found in Title 49 of the North Dakota Century Code (N.D.C.C.). The division also implements the state’s energy siting act. Regulatory responsibilities include rates, earning requirements, conditions and quality of service, jurisdictional boundaries, long-range planning, siting, and safety. The division consists of 4.5 employees including a director, two engineers, an administrative assistant, and a half-time accountant.

The staff is responsible for a broad scope of regulatory activity that originates from: (1) analysis and reaction to proposals by utilities and customers; (2) staff-initiated enforcement of existing regulations or proposed changes in existing regulations; and (3) direction from the Commissioners. Topics addressed by staff include regulatory actions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. Staff’s routine activities consist of desk and on-site audits, investigations of utility filings for changes in rates and conditions of service, workshop meetings associated with rulemaking, statutory law and major compliance filings, negotiating settlements, formal testimony before the Commission, and preparation, interpretation, and summary of proposals and events that require formal voting or administrative action by the Commission.