Senate Bill 109 Redefines PSC District Boundaries

Following the passage and signing of SB 109, the Montana Public Service Commission announces the creation of new boundaries for the five PSC districts.

SB 109, carried by Senator Keith Regier and signed into law by Gov. Gianforte, uses the newly established Montana House of Representatives district map to create the boundaries of the revised PSC districts. PSC districts are no longer determined by county boundary lines.

Under the recently enacted legislation, each of Montana's seven most populated cities, excluding Butte, will now be represented by two commissioners instead of the previous one commissioner scenario.

The five commission districts are as follows:

Commission District #1 (Commissioner Randall Pinocci) is comprised of the following House Districts: 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 38, 43, 44, 45. This district encompasses part of Great Falls and part of Billings, running east across the Hi-Line and south along the North and South Dakota borders.

Commission District #2 (Commissioner Anthony O'Donnell) is comprised of the following House Districts: 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62. This district encompasses the majority of Billings and the eastern portion of Bozeman, running from Bighorn County along the Wyoming border to Gallatin County.

Commission District #3 (Commissioner James Brown) is comprised of the following House Districts: 37, 60, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 78, 79, 85, 86. This district encompasses all of Butte as well as the western portion of Bozeman and Helena, running from Ravalli County through to Petroleum County.

Commission District #4 (Commissioner Jennifer Fielder) is comprised of the following House Districts: 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 87, 88, 89, 90, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 100. This district encompasses the majority of Missoula, as well as portions of Kalispell, running from Lincoln County to the northern half of Ravalli County and along the Idaho border.

Commission District #5 (Commissioner Dr. Annie Bukacek) is comprised of the following House Districts: 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 15, 16, 17, 24, 25, 76, 18, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 91, 92, 99. This district encompasses the majority of Kalispell, as well as parts of Great Falls and Missoula. This district runs from Glacier and Tool Counties south to Powell and Lewis and Clark Counties.

In an effort to allow citizens of Montana to easily identify their commissioner, the staff at the PSC is working on an interactive feature on the PSC website that will identify PSC districts by city, town, and address. The new districts are generally depicted as follows:

The mission of the PSC is to balance the interests of regulated utilities and the customers they serve in order to ensure that Montanans receive reliable service at justified rates. The public is reminded that the Montana Consumer Council is constitutionally designated to represent the interests of ratepayers and the public. Contact [email protected] at the Montana Consumer Council for additional ratepayer information or call 406-444-2771.

If you have any questions related to the duties of the PSC, you are encouraged to contact the PSC at: [email protected].