BISMARCK – The North Dakota Public Service Commission reports receiving 889 consumer contacts in 2024, including informal complaints against regulated entities, public input submitted as part of an open case, referrals to other agencies and/or requests for information.

Commissioner Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, who oversees the Consumer Affairs portfolio, emphasized the importance of public and consumer engagement in shaping effective policies in a news release from the commission.

“One of our top priorities at the commission is to actively listen to public and consumer feedback. The input is critical in crafting well-informed rules, regulations and decisions,” Haugen-Hoffart said. “Our existing system is highly effective in addressing the daily issues and concerns, allowing us to respond promptly and appropriately.”

Informal complaints are received and processed regarding utilities the commission regulates, including certain aspects of telephone service, natural gas providers and the three investor-owned electric companies in the state: Xcel, Otter Tail and Montana Dakota Utilities. Ninety contacts, or 10.1% of the total, were informal complaints against public utility companies regulated by the commission.

Informal complaint numbers overall were slightly higher for 2024 than the previous year. The most frequent reasons for complaints are billing issues, disconnects and phone outages, according to the news release. The most common billing complaints include customers wanting to investigate if their bills are correct, higher than normal bills and payment plans to avoid disconnections.

Additionally, in 2024 there were 179 public input contacts recorded related to public hearings, or 20% of the total contacts, the release stated. Public input was submitted for a variety of different cases throughout the year with the majority submitted for the Summit Carbon Solutions Pipeline Project, the Oliver Wind IV Project, MDU and Xcel’s gas rate increase cases and Otter Tail’s electric rate increase case.

“This commission takes public input seriously,” said Commission Chair Randy Christmann.

“It provides us with the information we need to make the best possible decisions, so we urge North Dakotans to contact us.”

The commission launched a new public comment tracking system in January 2020 that allows more flexibility to record comments from the public and generate statistics and reports.

“Public input is an integral part of the commission’s process,” Commissioner Jill

Kringstad said. “It allows us to listen to the important information provided by our citizens and evaluate and consider how best to support their needs. It’s also important to know our staff is available to assist or answer questions.”

When a complaint is received, a PSC staff member works as a liaison between the consumer and the company to resolve the problem within the jurisdiction of the commission. Often, the complaint is outside of the commission’s jurisdiction and needs to be referred to another agency or the caller simply needs information. These calls are recorded as “referrals.” The commission recorded 291 referrals in 2024.

This report does not include any docketed information that is part of formal cases before the commission. During the 2021-23 biennium, there were 840 formal cases filed with the commission.