North Dakota Public Service Commission

North Dakota Public Service Commission
General information
Office Type:	Partisan
Office website:	Official Link
Compensation:	$117,610
2023-25 FY Budget:	$21,261,831
Total Seats:	3
Term limits:	None
Structure
Length of term:	6 years
Authority:	North Dakota Constitution, Article V, Section 2
Selection Method:	Elected
Current Officeholder
Randel Christmann, Sheri Haugen-Hoffart, Jill Kringstad
Elections
Next election:	2026
Last election:	2024
Other North Dakota Executive Offices
Governor • Lieutenant Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Auditor • Superintendent of Education • Agriculture Commissioner • Insurance Commissioner • Natural Resources Commissioner • Labor Commissioner • Public Service Commission • Tax Commissioner

The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) is a three-person state executive board in the North Dakota state government. The commission has jurisdiction over and regulates electric and natural gas utilities, weights and measures, telecommunications companies, the reclamation of mined lands, the siting of energy infrastructure, auctioneers, and railroad safety.

Commissioners are elected by popular vote to serve staggered, six-year terms. One seat on the commission is up for election every two years.

Current officeholders

Office	Name	Party
North Dakota Public Service Commission	Randel Christmann	Republican
North Dakota Public Service Commission	Sheri Haugen-Hoffart	Republican
North Dakota Public Service Commission	Jill Kringstad	Republican

Authority

The public service commission's authority is derived from Article V, Section 2 of the North Dakota Constitution.

Article V, Section 2:

The qualified electors of the state at the times and places of choosing members of the legislative assembly shall choose a governor, lieutenant governor, agriculture commissioner, attorney general, auditor, insurance commissioner, three public service commissioners, secretary of state, superintendent of public instruction, tax commissioner, and treasurer. ...

Qualifications

Article V, Section 4 of the North Dakota Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

To be eligible to hold an elective office established by this article, a person must be a qualified elector of this state, must be at least twenty-five years of age on the day of the election, and must have been a resident of this state for the five years preceding election to office. ...

• Qualified North Dakota voter
• At least 25 years old
• A resident of North Dakota for at least five years preceding the election

Vacancies

Article V, Section 8 addresses vacancies in state executive offices. In the event of a vacancy, the governor appoints a successor. Once appointed, the individual serves the remainder of the unexpired term. If a vacancy occurs within 95 days before a regularly-scheduled election for the position, the office must remain vacant.

Elections

North Dakota state government organizational chart

Commissioners are elected by popular vote to serve staggered, six-year terms. One seat on the commission is up for election every two years.

2024

See also: North Dakota Public Service Commission election, 2024

General election candidates

• Randel Christmann  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
• Tracey Wilkie  (Democratic Party)

 Democratic primary candidates

• Tracey Wilkie ✔

 Republican primary candidates

• Randel Christmann (Incumbent) ✔

2022

See also: North Dakota Public Service Commission election, 2022

Fedorchak's seat

General election candidates

• Julie Fedorchak  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
• Melanie Moniz  (Democratic Party)

 Democratic primary candidates

• Melanie Moniz ✔

 Republican primary candidates

• Julie Fedorchak (Incumbent) ✔

Haugen-Hoffart's seat (unexpired term)

Note: Brian Kroshus (R) resigned from the North Dakota Public Service Commission in December 2021 after being appointed as state tax commissioner. Sheri Haugen-Hoffart (R) was appointed to the commission in February 2022 to replace Kroshus. Kroshus' former seat was on the 2022 ballot for a four-year unexpired term.

General election candidates

• Sheri Haugen-Hoffart  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
• Trygve Hammer  (Democratic Party)

 Democratic primary candidates

• Trygve Hammer ✔

 Republican primary candidates

• Sheri Haugen-Hoffart (Incumbent) ✔

2020

See also: North Dakota Public Service Commission election, 2020

General election candidates

• Brian Kroshus  (Incumbent) (Republican Party) ✔
• Casey D. Buchmann  (Democratic Party)

 Democratic primary candidates

• Casey D. Buchmann ✔

 Republican primary candidates

• Brian Kroshus (Incumbent) ✔

2018

See also: North Dakota Public Service Commission election, 2018

General election

General election for North Dakota Public Service Commission

Incumbent Randel Christmann defeated Jeannie Brandt in the general election for North Dakota Public Service Commission on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randel Christmann (R)	61.6	190,792
	Submit photo	Jeannie Brandt (D)	38.2	118,122
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	650

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 309,564
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for North Dakota Public Service Commission

Incumbent Randel Christmann and Jeannie Brandt advanced from the primary for North Dakota Public Service Commission on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Randel Christmann (R)	65.5	61,587
✔	Submit photo	Jeannie Brandt (D)	34.5	32,368

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 93,955
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

Special general election for North Dakota Public Service Commission

Incumbent Brian Kroshus defeated Casey D. Buchmann in the special general election for North Dakota Public Service Commission on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Kroshus (R)	61.5	187,939
	Submit photo	Casey D. Buchmann (D)	38.3	117,235
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	637

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 305,811
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for North Dakota Public Service Commission

Incumbent Brian Kroshus and Casey D. Buchmann advanced from the special primary for North Dakota Public Service Commission on June 12, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Brian Kroshus (R)	65.4	60,790
✔	Submit photo	Casey D. Buchmann (D)	34.6	32,101

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 92,891
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: North Dakota Public Service Commission election, 2016

The general election for one seat on the Public Service Commission was held on November 8, 2016.

Incumbent Julie Fedorchak defeated Marlo Hunte-Beaubrun and Tom Skadeland in the North Dakota public service commission election.

North Dakota Public Service Commission, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Julie Fedorchak Incumbent	68.76%	218,961
	Democratic/Democrat-Nonpartisan League	Marlo Hunte-Beaubrun	22.62%	72,028
	Libertarian	Tom Skadeland	8.45%	26,913
		Write-in votes	0.18%	563
Total Votes				318,465
Source: North Dakota Secretary of State

Full History

2014

See also: North Dakota down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Republican incumbent Brian Kalk won re-election on November 4, 2014.

North Dakota Public Service Commissioner, General election, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Brian Kalk Incumbent	64.8%	154,409
	Democratic	Todd Reisenauer	35.1%	83,557
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.2%	370
Total Votes				238,336
Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State

2014 special election

See also: North Dakota down ballot state executive elections, 2014

Republican incumbent Julie Fedorchak won the special election on November 4, 2014.

North Dakota Public Service Commissioner, Special election, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Julie Fedorchak Incumbent	66%	156,596
	Democratic	Tyler Axness	33.8%	80,319
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.2%	401
Total Votes				237,316
Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of North Dakota Public Service Commission, click [show] to expand the section.

2012 See also: North Dakota down ballot state executive elections, 2012 Incumbent Tony Clark (R) did not seek re-election in 2012. Randy Christmann (R) defeated Brad Crabtree (D) and Joshua Voytek (L) in the November 6, 2012 general election. North Dakota Public Service Commission General Election, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Randy Christmann 54.6% 164,591      Democratic Brad Crabtree 41.1% 123,978      Libertarian Joshua Voytek 4.3% 13,098 Total Votes 301,667 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State 2010 On November 2, 2010, Kevin Cramer won election to the office of North Dakota Public Service Commission. He defeated Brad Crabtree (D) and Joshua Voytek (L) in the general election. North Dakota Public Service Commission, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Kevin Cramer Incumbent 61.5% 142,644      Democratic Brad Crabtree 34.9% 81,011      Libertarian Joshua Voytek 3.6% 8,315      Write-In Various 0.1% 144 Total Votes 232,114 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. 2008 On November 4, 2008, Brian Kalk won election to the office of North Dakota Public Service Commission. He defeated Cheryl Bergian in the general election. North Dakota Public Service Commission, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Brian Kalk 53.2% 156,221      Democratic Cheryl Bergian 46.8% 137,682 Total Votes 293,903 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. 2006 On November 7, 2006, Tony Clark won re-election to the office of North Dakota Public Service Commission. He defeated Cheryl Bergian (D-NPL) in the general election. North Dakota Public Service Commission, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Tony Clark Incumbent 52.3% 110,002      Democratic Cheryl Bergian 47.7% 100,233 Total Votes 210,235 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. 2004 On November 2, 2004, Kevin Cramer won re-election to the office of North Dakota Public Service Commission. He defeated Ron Gumeringer (D-NPL) in the general election. North Dakota Public Service Commission, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Kevin Cramer Incumbent 65.5% 191,825      Democratic Ron Gumeringer 34.5% 101,081 Total Votes 292,906 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. 2002 On November 5, 2002, Susan Wefald won re-election to the office of North Dakota Public Service Commission. She defeated Bob Stefonowicz (D-NPL) in the general election. North Dakota Public Service Commission, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Susan Wefald Incumbent 63.7% 143,234      Democratic Bob Stefonowicz 36.3% 81,583 Total Votes 224,817 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State. 2000 On November 7, 2000, Tony Clark won election to the office of North Dakota Public Service Commission. He defeated Vern Thompson (D-NPL) in the general election. North Dakota Public Service Commission, 2000 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Tony Clark 50.2% 134,915      Democratic Vern Thompson 49.8% 133,856 Total Votes 268,771 Election results via North Dakota Secretary of State.

Duties

The commission has jurisdiction over and regulates electric and natural gas utilities, weights and measures, telecommunications companies, the reclamation of mined lands, the siting of energy infrastructure, auctioneers, and railroad safety. Additional duties include, but are not limited to:

• Requiring public utilities or other persons to conform to state laws and the rules of the commission;
• Supervising all public utility rates and setting rates, following a hearing, if rates are found to be unreasonable, insufficient, or discriminatory;
• Testing the meters of public utilities covered by the commission;
• Establishing a system of accounts in order to classify and prescribe forms for public utilities;
• Adopting and enforcing rules regarding the decommissioning of wind energy facilities; and
• Setting minimum safety standards for the design, construction, and operation of intrastate pipelines.

Divisions

The commission consists of the following divisions:

• Abandoned Mine Lands: administers federal programs to eliminate hazards associated with abandoned lines and manages construction projects to that end.
• Reclamation: administers state law regarding surface coal mining and reclamation efforts.
• Compliance: licenses auctioneers, tests commercial weighing and measuring devices, supplements federal oversight of rail safety, and oversees pipeline standards for intrastate distribution.
• Public Utilities: monitors and enforces utility compliance, siting requirements, and the regulation of rates, terms, and conditions of retail electric services.

State budget

See also: North Dakota state budget and finances

The budget for the Public Service Commission for the 2023-25 biennium was $21,261,831.

Compensation

See also: Compensation of state executive officers

The public service commissioners are each entitled to an annual salary in accordance with Title 49 of the North Dakota Century Code.

2023

In 2023, each commissioner received a salary of $117,610, according to the Council of State Governments.

2022

In 2022, each commissioner received a salary of $115,304, according to the Council of State Governments.

2021

In 2021, each commissioner received a salary of $113,600, according to the Council of State Governments.

2020

In 2020, each commissioner received a salary of $110,829, according to the Council of State Governments.

2019

In 2019, each commissioner received a salary of $108,656, according to the Council of State Governments.

2018

In 2018, each commissioner received a salary of $108,656, according to the Council of State Governments.

2017

In 2017, each commissioner received a salary of $108,656, according to the Council of State Governments.

2016

In 2016, each commissioner received a salary of $105,490, according to the Council of State Governments.

2015

In 2015, each commissioner received a salary of $102,418, according to the Council of State Governments.

2014

In 2014, each commissioner received a salary of $99,435, according to the Council of State Governments.

2013

In 2013, each commissioner received a salary of $95,611, according to the Council of State Governments.

2010

In 2010, each commissioner received a salary of $85,824, according to the Council of State Governments.

Historical officeholders

Note: Ballotpedia's state executive officials project researches state official websites for chronological lists of historical officeholders; information for the North Dakota Public Service Commission has not yet been added because the information was unavailable on the relevant state official websites, or we are currently in the process of formatting the list for this office. If you have any additional information about this office for inclusion on this section and/or page, please email us.

Contact information

North Dakota Public Service Commission
600 East Boulevard, Dept. 408
Bismarck, ND 58505-0480

Phone: 701-328-2400
TTY: 800-366-6888
Fax: 701-328-2410
E-mail: ndpsc@nd.gov

External links

Suggest a link

• North Dakota Public Service Commission