The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved Montana Dakota Utilities’ request to defer accounting treatment for external legal expenses tied to its congestion‑cost litigation and appeals, with conditions limiting recovery to $1,050,000 unless the utility seeks further approval.
Commissioner Hogan Hofer moved adoption of the order, saying the request covers legal expenses already incurred and expected future costs related to MDU’s dispute over congestion charges. The transcript states MDU says it was assessed roughly $21 million in congestion costs and believes duplicate charges resulted from market coordination between regional transmission organizations; MDU has appealed related orders at FERC and in the federal courts.
Why this matters: the commission’s action allows MDU to recover litigation expenses through the fuel and purchased‑power adjustment rider, which the commission estimated would increase bills by roughly $0.40 per month for customers while the balance is collected.
Details of the request and approval: MDU sought recovery of about $550,000 already spent and up to $500,000 in additional appeal costs for a total requested cap of $1,050,000. The commission required MDU to file an amended application for any costs it seeks to recover beyond that cap; commissioners confirmed that any excess recovery would require separate commission approval.
Commission discussion: Commissioners discussed the underlying congestion dispute and customer impacts. One commissioner noted MDU reported a 7.7% decrease in its load between 2018 and 2024 during the informal hearing, a fact MDU used to argue that the load pocket itself was not growing and therefore that a new large customer should not have driven duplicate congestion charges. Another commissioner emphasized the company’s effort to correct tariff treatment and obtain refunds for customers if the appeals succeed.
Decision versus direction: the commission issued a formal order approving deferred accounting treatment for the specified litigation expenses and authorized recovery through an existing rider up to the stated cap. Commissioners clarified that any request to recover costs beyond $1,050,000 would require a new application and commission approval.
Ending: the commission approved the order by voice vote during the regular meeting; no written vote tally was recorded in the transcript.