The Public Service Commission will hold an informal hearing with the three investor-owned utilities that serve North Dakota to see what effects the COVID-19 pandemic have had on their incomes and expenditures.
The three are Montana Dakota Utilities, Xcel Energy and Otter Tail.
"Utilities are experiencing unanticipated costs due to COVID-19," said PSC Chairman Brian Kroshus. "They could range rom an increase in bad debt, uncollectable amounts from businesses and induviduals, as a result of the pandemic."
Kroshus said companies are working with individuals to detemine payment plans that might be better suited for their current sitaution. He also said there might be added costs to having employees work from home. He said the informal hearing would explore ways the utilities could recover some of those costs.