Electric & Gas

Electricity

The Public Utilities Division implements the Commission's statutory responsibilities concerning the regulation of retail electric service provided in North Dakota. Stated broadly, these responsibilities include:

Regulation of the rates, terms and conditions of retail electric service provided by investor owned utilities (IOU's). The Commission does not have jurisdiction to regulate rates, terms and conditions for rural electric cooperatives (REC's) or municipal providers;
Prescription and enforcement of safety requirements for electric service provided by all providers;
Resolution of territorial disputes between IOU's and REC's; and
Siting of energy conversion and transmission facilities.

There are three investor-owned electric utilities operating in North Dakota: Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Northern States Power Company, and Otter Tail Power Company.

Gas

The Public Utilities Division implements the Commission's statutory responsibilities concerning the regulation of retail natural gas service provided in North Dakota. There are four investor-owned natural gas utilities operating in North Dakota: Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Great Plains Natural Gas Co., Northern States Power Company, and Dakota Natural Gas, LLC.

Electricity

Having problems paying your electric or gas bill? There are programs that may help:

Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Electric Prices

Fuel Cost Adjustments
U.S. Department of Energy

Electric Service Issues

Protection from Electric and Natural Gas Disconnections

Regulatory Process

Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting

Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs)

A Regional Transmission Organization or RTO is an electric power transmission system operator that coordinates, controls, and monitors a multi-state grid. They work to enable the reliable delivery of low-cost energy through the efficient coordination of all member generating resources available to serve customers, enhance and maintain system reliability, and coordinate regional investment planning on the transmission system. North Dakota Utilities belong to two different RTOs, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP). Grid operators are managing supply and demand on the transmission grid in real time and may need to take steps to ensure adequacy of resources. Interested in updates on the status of the grid? Please use the links below to sign up for alerts from MISO and/or SPP.

MISO Alerts (Once registered, click on your name, then profile. Under Profile, scroll down to the mailing lists and select "Real-Time and Market Notifications"

SPP Alerts (During registration, Under the Exploder Lists, select "Grid Notice"