Public Service Commission seeks about $1M increase, 2.5 staff and $200,000 one‑time contract in HB2 request

The Montana Public Service Commission told the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday that it is seeking roughly $1,000,000 more in its House Bill 2 budget for the 2027 biennium, including funding for 2.5 new positions and a $200,000 one‑time contract to support review and implementation work on integrated resource plans, Legislative Fiscal Division and commission officials said.

“The house bill 2 budget that is being requested by the public service commission for this upcoming 20 27 biennium is about $1,000,000 higher than it is for the current biennium,” said Mr. Walker, Legislative Fiscal Division analyst, summarizing the LFD’s budget analysis. He said about half of the requested increase is attributable to statewide present‑law adjustments for personal services and fixed costs.

The LFD analysis breaks out the agency’s request as including approximately $316,000 to fund 2.5 budgeted positions (one accounting technician 2 and 1.5 administrative assistant FTE) and a $200,000 one‑time request for a technical contract to review integrated resource plans (IRPs) that investor‑owned utilities submit every three years. “There is a request for $316,000 to fund 2.5 new positions budgeted for the 20 27 bienium… and then there’s a 1 time only request for $200,000… for the review and implementation plan for an integrated resource plan,” Mr. Walker said.

Brad Molnar, executive officer of the Montana Public Service Commission, described the agency’s role in overseeing monopolistic utilities and in auditing utility costs. “Our job is to take a look almost like a forensic audit…the money that was spent … we disallow what we disagree on and we allow what we do agree on,” Molnar said. He and other PSC staff emphasized that the agency’s budget is funded largely by a state special revenue account — fees assessed on regulated utilities that are ultimately borne by ratepayers. “At the end of the day, the PSC is rate payer funded,” Molnar said.

The LFD analysis showed the PSC’s fund receives nearly all of its operating revenue from state special revenue (fees set after the Legislature appropriates spending authority), with small federal amounts for pipeline and railway programs. The LFD noted projected revenues in the state special revenue account at just under $5,000,000 per year and projected expenditures a little over $5,000,000 per year, producing a modest projected decline in fund balance for the 2027 biennium.

Agency officials described staffing and workload: the PSC currently has 33 permanent‑position (PB) authorizations plus five commissioner PBs (38 total), with 33 positions staffed. The requested positions were framed as backfill and operational support: the accounting technician 2 would provide backup for accounting, payroll and accounts payable functions; the administrative assistant requests would provide support for increased public comment processing and front‑desk coverage. Molnar said public engagement around energy dockets has grown (one recent climate petition produced more than 900 public comments), increasing the administrative burden of docket intake and data entry.

Fiscal performance data cited in the hearing showed the agency expended about 85.2 percent of its modified House Bill 2 budget in fiscal 2024; personal services were almost 94 percent expended while operating expenses were about 51 percent expended in that year, the LFD analyst said.

Committee members asked how the new positions would be funded; Molnar and LFD staff said the positions would be paid from the PSC’s state special revenue account and would be covered by the fee assessed to regulated utilities. The committee did not take formal action on the PSC’s budget request at the hearing; staff said the appropriations process for House Bill 2 will continue and that some LFD follow‑up was planned to clarify reporting‑level details and fund projections.

The hearing included a brief review of decision‑package categories common across agencies (DP1 personal services, DP2 fixed costs, DP3 inflation adjustments, etc.), and the LFD noted that the $200,000 IRP contract is requested as one‑time only funding and would not become base funding if approved only for the 2027 biennium.

No committee vote was taken during the session on the PSC budget request; the committee asked staff and the agency for additional budget detail and for clarifications on reporting levels and fund projections.

Looking ahead, the PSC said it would appear again in the appropriations process as House Bill 2 is considered; committee staff and PSC staff agreed to follow up with additional fund‑balance and reporting‑level detail.