Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. Rate Selection Guide
Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU) is an investor-owned electric and natural gas utility serving roughly 435,000 customers across Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Data access is form-based and manual — there is no Green Button, public API, or EDI support — so C&I energy teams should plan for portal review plus written authorization workflows.
Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. Rate Schedule Comparison
| Schedule | Type | Rate | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate 30 (Secondary) | Commercial | 2.444¢/kWh + $10.01-$13.01/kW demand | Most ND C&I sites taking service at secondary voltage |
| Rate 30 (Primary) | Industrial | 1.538¢/kWh + $12.05-$15.05/kW demand | Large facilities owning transformers, metered at primary voltage |
| Rate 31 (TOD) | Commercial | Time-of-day (see tariff) | Customers who can shift load to off-peak hours |
Market Overview
Vertically integrated, regulated IOU. Rates are approved by the relevant state commission per jurisdiction. No retail choice; no community choice aggregation. Bills are subject to riders including the Renewable Resource Cost Adjustment (Rate 55), Generation Resource Recovery (Rate 56), Environmental Cost Recovery (Rate 57), Fuel & Purchased Power Adjustment (Rate 58), and Transmission Cost Adjustment (Rate 59).
Need to pull your actual usage data to compare rates? See the Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. Data Access Guide →
Current Rate Schedules
Rates shown are North Dakota electric tariffs (MDU's primary state) verified directly from MDU's filed NDPSC tariff sheets. North Dakota General Electric Service (Rate 30) is the core demand-metered C&I schedule, available at secondary or primary voltage with seasonal demand charges. Customers in MT, SD, and WY have analogous schedules at different rates; consult the state-specific tariff books. Bills are also subject to several adjustment riders (Rates 55-59).
Effective: July 1, 2023 · Full Tariff Book →
| Schedule | Type | Applicability | Structure | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rate 30 — General Electric Service (Secondary, ND) | commercial | All demand-metered general electric service taken at secondary voltage in ND (excludes outside lighting, standby, resale, special contracts). | Basic service charge plus seasonal demand charge plus energy charge. Billing demand = maximum 15-minute measured demand in the current month. | Energy 2.444¢/kWh; Basic Service Charge $58.72/month+ $10.01/kW Oct-May; $13.01/kW Jun-Sep |
| Rate 30 — General Electric Service (Primary, ND) | industrial | Demand-metered customers in ND who own their transformers/distribution equipment and take service at primary voltage (2,400 V or greater). | Basic service charge plus seasonal demand charge plus energy charge; lower energy charge reflects primary-voltage delivery. Power factor between 90% lagging and 90% leading required or reactive demand billed at $3.35/kvar of excess. | Energy 1.538¢/kWh; Basic Service Charge $108.03/month+ $12.05/kW Oct-May; $15.05/kW Jun-Sep |
| Rate 31 — Optional Time-of-Day General Electric Service (ND) | commercial | Optional time-of-day variant of demand-metered general service for ND C&I customers who can shift load off peak. | Time-differentiated energy and/or demand pricing designed to reward off-peak consumption. See tariff sheet for current on/off-peak periods and rates. | See filed tariff (time-of-day energy/demand pricing)+ Per filed Rate 31 tariff |
| Adjustment Riders (Rates 55-59, ND) | commercial | Applied on top of the base general service schedules for all demand-metered ND customers. | Per-kWh or formula riders that pass through renewable, generation, environmental, fuel/purchased-power, and transmission costs. These move bills up or down between base-rate cases. | Variable per-period rider rates (see tariff book)+ N/A (energy/cost riders) |
Rate Recommendations by Use Case
Mid-size commercial facility (office, retail, light industrial) in North Dakota
Standard demand-metered commercial service taken at secondary voltage.
Rate 30 secondary is the default for ND C&I sites under ~2,400V service. The seasonal demand charge ($10.01-$13.01/kW) makes peak management the key cost driver.
- Track your monthly 15-minute peak in the portal or via Business Services
- Stagger HVAC and large equipment startups to flatten peaks
- Watch summer (Jun-Sep) demand charges, which are highest
Large industrial plant owning its own transformers
High-load-factor industrial site able to take service at primary voltage.
Primary service cuts the energy charge to 1.538¢/kWh — meaningful at high consumption — in exchange for a higher $108.03 basic charge and $12.05-$15.05/kW demand. Best for steady, high-throughput loads.
- Model primary vs. secondary using your actual load factor before electing
- Maintain power factor to avoid $3.35/kvar excess charges
- Engage your local Industrial Services Manager for a custom analysis
Facility with flexible/shiftable load
C&I customer that can move processes to off-peak hours.
Time-of-day pricing rewards off-peak consumption and can beat flat Rate 30 for customers with genuinely shiftable load.
- Confirm current on/off-peak windows in the Rate 31 tariff sheet
- Compare a full year of TOD vs. standard billing before switching
- Combine with DRR enrollment for additional peak-event revenue
Multi-site C&I energy team needing data for benchmarking
Organization aggregating MDU billing/usage across several accounts.
With no API or Green Button, the practical path is portal review plus signed authorization forms and Business Services data pulls. Build manual monthly workflows.
- Execute Customer's Agent Authorization Forms for each account up front
- Request CSV/text load data from Business Services per account
- Plan a 1-3 week turnaround on any detailed data request
Historical Rate Trends
MDU recovers renewable generation investment through its Renewable Resource Cost Adjustment (Rate 55) rider, which is updated periodically and approved by the state commission. In January 2026 the North Dakota PSC approved a renewable cost adjustment that raised a representative residential bill (800 kWh) by about $9.98/month. MDU also has pending base-rate increase requests in Montana and Wyoming as of early 2026.
January 29, 2026
North Dakota PSC approved a Renewable Resource Cost Adjustment (Rate 55) increase; representative 800 kWh residential bill rose about $9.98/month.
approx +$9.98/mo (800 kWh residential)July 1, 2023
Current North Dakota General Electric Service (Rate 30) tariff sheets took effect (Case No. PU-22-194).
N/A (base tariff effective date)Overall trend: Upward — driven by renewable/wind generation cost recovery and rising infrastructure costs across the four-state region.
Next expected change: Pending Montana and Wyoming base-rate cases (2026); periodic rider updates under Rates 55-59.
Cost Optimization Strategies
Because MDU's C&I bills are dominated by a seasonal per-kW demand charge, the highest-leverage strategies target the monthly 15-minute peak and power factor. Voltage-level election and rider awareness round out the savings picture.
Peak demand management
For: All demand-metered C&I (Rate 30/31)
Stagger large equipment startups and shed non-critical load to lower the single highest 15-minute demand interval each month, which sets the demand charge.
Summer-season load shifting
For: C&I with shiftable load
Demand charges are ~30% higher June-September; shifting flexible processes out of summer peak periods or onto Rate 31 time-of-day pricing reduces seasonal exposure.
Power factor correction
For: Facilities with motor/inductive load
Maintain power factor between 90% lagging and 90% leading. Reactive demand above 50% of kW demand is billed at $3.35/kvar — capacitor banks can eliminate this.
Primary-voltage election
For: Large industrial with high load factor
High-load-factor sites that own (or can install) transformers may take primary service for a lower energy charge (1.538¢ vs 2.444¢/kWh in ND), offsetting the higher basic/demand charges.
Demand response revenue (DRR)
For: C&I electric in MT/ND/SD
Enroll eligible electric load in the CPower-administered DRR program to earn payments for curtailing during peak events.
To implement these strategies, you need your 15-minute interval data. Learn how to download Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. interval data →
Frequently Asked Questions
Does MDU support Green Button or an API for automated C&I energy data?▾
No. MDU does not offer Green Button Download My Data, Connect My Data, a public API, or EDI. C&I teams should expect manual, form-based data access via the online portal and Business Services. Plan automation around monthly PDF/portal pulls rather than a live feed.
How does a third-party energy manager get authorized to access our MDU data?▾
Have the customer of record sign the Customer's Agent Authorization Form (for ongoing billing access) or the Consent to Disclose form (for a specific one-time data pull). Mail the signed original to MDU in Bismarck and allow 5-10 business days for activation. Note these forms do not apply to interruptible or transportation-rate accounts.
Can we get 15-minute interval data for our commercial meters?▾
Not through self-service. MDU's Itron AMR meters generally provide daily reads. Detailed interval or load data, where available, must be requested manually through Business Services or your local Industrial Services Manager, delivered as CSV/text within roughly 5-15 business days.
What demand-related charges should a C&I customer expect on a North Dakota bill?▾
Demand-metered general service in North Dakota (Rate 30) bills a monthly demand charge that is seasonal — higher in summer (June-September) than winter (October-May) — plus a basic service charge and a per-kWh energy charge, with several adjustment riders. Managing peak 15-minute demand is the primary lever for reducing the bill.
Is there a demand response program our facility can earn revenue from?▾
Yes. MDU's Demand Response Resources (DRR) program, administered by CPower, is open to C&I electric customers in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Participants curtail load during a handful of events per power year and earn performance-based payments. Enroll by calling Business Services at 800-638-3278.
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