Interim Rate Increase Approved For MDU
The Montana Public Service Commission surprised the public and voted in favor of a requested interim natural gas rate increase from Montana-Dakota Utilities last week. A final decision on an overall proposed increase is still being considered.
The vote came in at 4-1 in favor of granting the interim increase, with Commissioner Randy Pinocci, representative of PSC District 1, being the lone vote against.
The interim increase request follows a proposed natural gas rate increase for MDU residential customers of 16.4 percent made in July of 2024. In the proposal, MDU cites increased operational costs and the costs of repairing and upgrading its utilities infrastructure as the primary reasons behind the request. If approved, the proposed increase would add a total of about $104 per year to the average residential customer’s bill, resulting in a total annual bill of about $739.
A previous natural gas rate increase was requested by MDU in 2020 and granted in 2021, as well as an electrical rate increase of 9.1 percent granted in 2023.
Commissioner Brad Molnar was among the commissioners in favor of the hike, saying PSC cannot make MDU Resources subsidize one of its companies.
“It’s not a matter of how is MDU doing, it’s Montana- Dakota Utility Resources is where these quotes are coming from,” Molnar said. “Utilities, labor and all of that have all increased over time, and no business can survive by not passing some of that onto the customer. If the market pushes back to you too much when you try to pass those on, you either go out of business or you adjust accordingly.”
