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Public Utilities Commission seeks commissioner pay increase, highlights recordkeeping and replacement needs
Summary
PUC staff outlined a FY2026 request that includes a governor-recommended 5% increase for commissioner salaries (statutorily set) and one-time dedicated fund requests for vehicle replacement and IT/hardware licensing; commissioners also described regional work and record management.
Kellan McGurkin, a Legislative Services budget analyst, presented the Public Utilities Commission’s FY2026 budget and highlighted a governor recommendation to increase commissioners’ statutory salaries by 5 percent, plus one-time items for a pipeline safety truck and IT/hardware replacements.
Commissioner pay and statutory authority
The PUC’s authority comes from titles 61 and 62 of Idaho Code, McGurkin noted. He explained that commissioner salaries are set in statute (Section 61-215 of Idaho Code), so any change requires statutory modification. For FY2026 the governor recommended a $23,100 ongoing increase (a 5% adjustment as presented by the governor) to commissioners’ pay; the committee may adopt a different figure.
Operations, revenues and recordkeeping
McGurkin briefed the committee on the commission’s financing model: the PUC is funded through assessments on regulated utilities (special regulatory fees) and does not use general funds; the commission maintains a fund balance target around 60% of total appropriation to handle biannual payouts from utilities. The PUC has 48 authorized FTE, including three commissioners, and reported four vacant positions and an approximate 84% filled FTE over five years. McGurkin said the agency spends about 75% of its budget on personnel and described operating costs such as statewide cost allocation adjustments and attorney-general reimbursements.
Commissioner Eric Anderson, president of the PUC, described the commission’s regional engagement (transmission and market discussions) and noted that filings and historical records are kept and consolidated into the official record; he said the commission maintains secure records going back to 1913 and that four administrative staff handle current document management and filings.
One-time replacements and IT
PUC requested one-time dedicated fund items totaling $114,100, including $40,500 to replace a pipeline safety truck and $73,600 for IT-related hardware and licensing recommended by the Office of Information Technology Services (14 laptops, one desktop, five network switches, document-management licensing and other items).
Ending
McGurkin said the governor recommended the requested items and is available to answer further questions. Commissioner Anderson encouraged committee members to contact PUC policy staff on regulatory matters and thanked the committee for reviewing the budget.
