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Public Utilities Commission Seeks Small Pay Increases for Commissioners, IT and Truck Replacements
Summary
PUC analysts presented the commission's budget profile, including a governor-recommended 5% pay recommendation for commissioners, a one-time request for a pipeline-safety truck and IT replacements, and the agency's practice of maintaining a roughly 60% ending fund balance to smooth biannual assessments.
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission briefed Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee staff on the commission's fiscal 2026 budget request and operational profile on Friday, including a governor-recommended pay adjustment for commissioners and one-time replacement items.
Analyst Kellen McGurkin said the PUC has 48 full-time positions (including three commissioners) and typically aims to hold about 60% of its total appropriation in its dedicated fund to guard against variability in biannual assessments paid by regulated utilities. The agency reported four vacant positions and a five-year filled-FTE average of 84%.
The commission requested a statutory increase to commissioners' salaries; the governor recommended a 5% increase totaling $23,100. McGurkin noted commissioner salaries are set in Idaho Code section 61-215 and that statutory change is required to alter them. The PUC also requested one-time dedicated-fund appropriation totaling $114,100 that includes $40,500 to replace a pipeline-safety truck and $73,600 for IT and hardware recommended by the state's Office of Information Technology Services (including laptops, network switches and licensing).
Commission President Eric Anderson, who was present, described the agency's regional engagement on energy and transmission matters and noted the commission's role in protecting consumers while keeping utilities viable. Committee members asked about document management and staffing that supports records processing; Anderson said four staff manage PUC filings and that the commission maintains a secure historical record back to 1913.
McGurkin said the governor recommended the salary increase and replacement items as requested; no formal votes were taken in the hearing.
