RANDY PINOCCI, COMMISSIONER

Randy Pinocci was elected to serve on the Public Service Commission in 2018. His district has changed twice since he was elected.  The district currently encompasses 20 house districts, and has the most square miles of any PSC district.

Prior to being elected to the PSC, Randy Pinocci was a small business owner while working full time in the printing business for over 32 years, specializing in political direct mail. He also has served as a statewide director for former United States Senator Conrad Burns, chair of the Second Amendment Committee for the Republican Party (the first of its kind in the United States, set up by former NRA President Charlton Heston). Pinocci also served in 2015 as a member of the Montana State House of Representatives. He served as a longtime member of the Board of Directors for the Montana Shooting Sports Association (MSSA). During that time, he assisted in introducing and passing pro-gun laws in Montana. MSSA has passed more pro-gun law than any other state organization in United States history.

As a state legislator, Randy Pinocci championed issues such as welfare reform and expanding access to transportation services by passing a law to allow Uber to operate in Montana. Pinocci was successful in getting one of his bills signed into law that helped the real estate industry right here in Montana, an unusual accomplishment for a freshman legislator. He was known for being a citizen-first legislator crisscrossing his district regularly to meet with constituents and business owners to get their input on issues and legislation. As a Public Service Commissioner, Randy is committed to maintaining an aggressive schedule to raise awareness about the issues facing rate payers and engage citizens in utility matters. As a father, Randy is also passionate about safety. Randy has been outspoken on the issue of railroad safety and creating public awareness about the dangers of people walking on railroad tracks with earphones on. This has been a concern he has heard about from parents across his district.

While serving as a commissioner, Randy is committed to a market-based approach to safe, reliable, and affordable utility infrastructure. The issues that the PSC governs are often complex, but his favorite part of this role is engaging citizens in studying problems and coming up with long-term solutions that will serve them and their families for generations to come. Pinocci is shining light on public utilities being vulnerable to an enemy EMP attack, or a major solar storm such as the 1859 Carrington Flare event. "It is not a matter of if it will happen, it is a matter of when it will happen. Montana is not ready, but I will work with my fellow commissioners and all entities needed to make us ready," Pinocci says. Randy is a native Montanan, and resides in Sun River with his wife and three children.

Randy's statement on serving as a Montana Public Service Commissioner:

"I am a husband and a father first. Actively serving in my community has always been a passion of mine because all families face the same issues. The Public Service Commission is currently addressing concerns that will affect Montanans for generations to come, and I know it is important to have problem solvers that will not just get the job done, but will study complex issues, ask tough questions, and come up with next-generation solutions. I want Montanans to know that my door and my mind are open to all possible solutions, and those solutions come when we work together to do the job right."

BRAD MOLNAR, PRESIDENT

POLITICAL BACKGROUND:

• Served in Montana House of Representatives 1993-1999 

• Energy Advisor to the Speaker of the House in 2001 "The Deregulation Session." Crafted HB 640 to stop the crushing of Montana by Montana Power and PPL MT due to deregulation. It worked.

• Elected to Montana PSC 2004 serving till 2012 as Commissioner from District 2 and elected as Vice Chair twice.

• Elected to Montana Senate 2020 serving thru 2024 

• Reelected to Montana PSC 2024. 

PERSONAL BACKGROUND:

• Born in Walkerton, Indiana 1950 

• Attended University of Montana majoring in Forestry and Journalism

• Married to Tao Zheng Molnar 8 years. Three children and two stepsons, twelve grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren. Two horses and one mule.

BUSINESS BACKGROUND:

• Founded and ran Intermountain Systems for 31 years selling mainly YORK steel buildings, grain storage and grain handling equipment to ag and industrial customers. Three times the largest YORK dealer in the United States and three times the largest YORK dealer in the world. Not the same three times.  

CURRENT ENERGY CONCERNS:

• National, Intermountain, and state resource adequacy and how that affects Montana ratepayers. 

• Montana Tax policy and how that impacts the energy bills of Montanans.

• National and international geo-political forces that affect Montana ratepayers.

• Can provide reliable services even in an emergency.

SLOGAN:

• Good politics occasionally leads to good government. Good government is good politics.

JEFF WELBORN, COMMISSIONER

Jeff Welborn of Dillon, Montana, was elected to the Montana Public Service Commission in November 2024. 

Jeff owns and operates Welborn Land Holdings, LLC in Dillon, consisting of full-service trailer dealership, a small hay and grain farm, a heavy machinery rental and operator service.  He is also a professional auctioneer.

Jeff served in the Montana House of Representatives from 2008 to 2016 where he served as Majority Whip, chaired the Fish Wildlife & Parks Committee, and served on the Energy, Business & Labor, Human Services, & Education Committees.  He was later elected  to the Montana Senate in 2017 and served until 2025, where he served as chair of the Senate Natural Resources, Vice Chair of Transportation, Chair of Water Policy Interim Committee, and was Ranking Senate Republican on the Appropriations and Finance sub-committee, that approves the budgets of Transportation, Dept of Environmental Quality, Natural Resources, Fish Wildlife and Parks, and Dept of Livestock.

Jeff's passions are supporting the Shriners Hospitals for children, lending a hand as a fund-raising auctioneer for any cause that helps people or Montana communities thrive, investing in fed beef cattle, the stock market, and cattle and grain futures, cooking for friends, walleye or deep sea fishing, and international travel.  His favorite place is anywhere his feet land or that a motorcycle can travel, snow shoeing, adventure travel in Montana's backcountry, or sitting on a piece of machinery, with his hands-free device, talking to customers and constituents alike, about whatever is on their mind.

Spouse: Marni Fifield

Step-sons: Kash and Wyatt

Fun Fact:  Jeff has clocked over 300,000 miles by motorcycle, spanning 50 States , 9 Canadian Provinces, and parts of India, the European Union, China and Japan.

JENNIFER FIELDER, VICE PRESIDENT

A resident of beautiful Thompson Falls, Jennifer Fielder was elected as a member of the Montana Public Service Commission in November 2020. Currently Commissioner Fielder represents District 4 which includes all or parts of Lincoln, Flathead, Sanders, Mineral, Lake, Missoula, and Ravalli Counties.

In January 2023, Commissioner Fielder was selected by her fellow Commissioners to serve as the agency’s Vice President. In addition to the Commission’s intensive regulatory workload, Fielder also serves as the agency lead on numerous special projects including a major Software Modernization Project, the department’s reorganization and Strategic Planning, and comprehensive review and revision of the agency-wide Internal Policies Manual. She is the agency’s designated representative on the State’s Information Technology Board and is a graduate of the National Association of Regulated Utility Commissions’ Utility Rate School course.

Prior to joining the Commission, Fielder served eight years in the Montana State Senate where she held the positions of Vice Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chair of the Senate Fish, Wildlife & Parks Committee, Chair of the Council on River Governance, Chair of the Federal Lands Study Working Group, and was a member of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, Environmental Quality Council, and Water Policy Interim Committee. Much of her legislative work centered on sound stewardship of natural resources and protection of life and liberty. In 2015 she was awarded the “Keeper of the Tenth” award for her steadfast defense of the rights of the State and the people in accordance with the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Before entering politics, Fielder earned A.A.S. and B.S. Degrees and amassed over two decades of professional planning, design, and project management experience which periodically involved the types of industries regulated by the Commission including railways, pipelines, electric generation, telecommunications, water works, solid waste planning, and federal energy regulatory proceedings. Early in her career she was a fully certified professional ski instructor and coached collegiate level downhill skiing.

Jennifer is married to Paul Fielder, a retired wildlife biologist and current member of the Montana House of Representatives. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, hunting, fishing, boating, and helping her favorite charity - the American Lands Council, a national nonprofit dedicated to improving public access, environmental quality, and economic productivity on federally controlled public lands. She is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and appreciates the many opportunities she has had to serve her community, State, and country.

ANNIE BUKACEK, COMMISSIONER

Dr. Annie Bukacek was elected to the Public Service Commission November 8, 2022. Her campaign slogan for this position was “Let’s Keep the Lights On.” This slogan is in reference to acknowledgement of events that have threatened availability of life-sustaining utilities in other parts of the U.S. and Europe…and the need to avoid such crises in Montana. 

Having been a leader in grassroots advocacy for Montanans for over a decade, her passion for advocacy has now shifted focus to protecting availability and access to reliable and affordable power, water, and other utilities. She is determined to face the facts squarely, as real solutions can only arise from honest evaluation of the problems

Commissioner Bukacek has been a medical doctor for close to forty years, most of those years in Montana, and she has a penchant for helping people both in the medical field and in promoting good public policy.

PRESENTATIONS

Disclaimer:

The following short topical resource adequacy presentations are intended to provide factual content for education purposes. Unless otherwise designated, these presentations are produced by me. Therein, any opinions or perceived opinions should be considered mine, and not reflective of the Public Service Commission otherwise. PSC Docket 2022.09.087 led to the 12/2022 Resource Adequacy Forum in Helena that can be viewed here in total Thursday, December 8th   Friday, December 9th

Third Party Presentations:

U of M MERIT Study presented 12/8/2022 at PSC Resource Adequacy Forum