billhike

[ Montana-Dakota Utilities / ND · PU-26-241 ]

Montana-Dakota Utilities: 18.9% requested for 79,711 North Dakota homes

PENDING · DECISION JAN 2027 · 106 DAYS

rate increase requested

11.06¢
per kWh, 2025
13.15¢
per kWh if approved
106
days to decision
+7.5%
since 2020

What your bill becomes

Bill today
$118.34
After the increase
$140.71
Difference / month · / year
+$22.37 · +$268.44

Estimated at Montana-Dakota Utilities's average effective residential rate (11.06¢/kWh, EIA, all charges included). Your tariff, fees and taxes differ.

Rate case PU-26-241

Pending Docket PU-26-241 ↗
  1. Jun 2026Filed with the commission as docket PU-26-241
  2. Jan 2027Decision expected · 106 days

Montana-Dakota Utilities filed with the North Dakota Public Service Commission on June 30, 2026 for a $34.5 million (14.5% overall) electric increase based on a 2027 test year, including an 18.9% increase for the residential class. MDU says the average residential bill would rise about $19.10 a month, from $105.16 to $124.26 (18.2%), and cites higher operating costs and infrastructure investment since its 2022 case. The commission suspended the proposed rates on July 27, 2026 and, as state law requires, approved interim rates worth $26.3 million a year effective Sept. 1, 2026 (about $12.90 a month, or 12.3%, for a typical residential customer), subject to refund. No hearing has been scheduled; a commissioner said hearings likely will not take place until 2027.

Full case page →

Rate history 2015–2025

11.72¢9.10¢20252015
Year¢/kWhChangeCustomers
20159.10¢—78,486
201610.66¢+17.1%78,678
201710.63¢−0.3%78,554
201810.61¢−0.2%78,576
201910.59¢−0.2%78,685
202010.29¢−2.8%78,812
202110.35¢+0.6%78,983
202210.89¢+5.2%79,183
202311.00¢+1.0%79,241
202411.72¢+6.5%79,354
202511.06¢−5.6%79,711

How this compares

11.82¢
North Dakota average, 2025
−6.4%
Montana-Dakota Utilities vs ND 2025 average
−35.8%
vs US 2025 average
#10
priciest in ND

Montana-Dakota Utilities files with the EIA as Montana-Dakota Utilities Co (utility ID 12199).

Serves 29 counties in North Dakota: Adams, Billings, Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Burleigh, Dickey, Divide, Dunn, Emmons, Golden Valley, Grant, Hettinger, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, McKenzie, Mercer, Morton, Mountrail, Oliver, Renville, Richland, Sioux, Slope, Stark, Ward, Williams. 105 ZIP codes.

What the numbers show

Since 2015, Montana-Dakota Utilities's average residential rate has gone from 9.10¢ to 11.06¢ per kWh: +21.5% over 10 years, or about +2.0% a year. It rose in 5 of the 10 years we can compare, and the biggest one-year increase was +17.1% in 2016. The largest drop was −5.6% in 2025.

For a home using 1,070 kWh a month, the North Dakota average, Montana-Dakota Utilities's 2025 rate works out to about $1,420 a year, $98 less than at North Dakota's average rate of 11.82¢. Of the 17 North Dakota utilities in our data with a 2025 price, it is the 10th most expensive.

Montana-Dakota Utilities served 78,486 homes in 2015 and 79,711 in 2025 (+1.6%), about 20% of North Dakota's residential electricity customers.

Who sets Montana-Dakota Utilities's rates

Montana-Dakota Utilities is investor-owned, so it can change its base rates only by filing a rate case with the North Dakota Public Service Commission. The commission holds hearings and takes public comment before it rules, and it usually approves less than the company asks for. Fuel and other pass-through charges can change between rate cases.

Commission contact: North Dakota Public Service Commission. How we calculate every figure on this page: methodology.

Questions

Is Montana-Dakota Utilities raising rates?

Montana-Dakota Utilities filed docket PU-26-241 with the North Dakota Public Service Commission in Jun 2026 asking for a 18.9% increase (average residential increase), about $34.5M a year. The commission is expected to decide by Jan 2027.

How much more would I pay Montana-Dakota Utilities each month?

At North Dakota's average use of 1,070 kWh, a bill of about $118.34 would become about $140.71 if the full 18.9% is approved. Commissions usually approve less than the request.

What does Montana-Dakota Utilities charge per kWh?

Montana-Dakota Utilities's average effective residential rate was 11.06¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA-861, revenue divided by sales, all charges included). North Dakota's 2025 average was 11.82¢.

How much have Montana-Dakota Utilities rates gone up in five years?

+7.5% between 2020 and 2025, against +9.5% for North Dakota as a whole over the latest five-year window.

How many customers does Montana-Dakota Utilities have in North Dakota?

79,711 residential customers in 2025, across 29 counties including Adams, Billings, Bottineau, according to the EIA-861 survey.

Where do these numbers come from?

Rates and customer counts are from the US Energy Information Administration's annual EIA-861 survey; rate-case facts are from the North Dakota Public Service Commission docket linked on this page. Nothing here is a utility bill; use it to understand the direction and size of changes.

Sources

Last verified 2026-10-16

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