Overview
- Landowners, five townships and the Willowbank Hutterian Brethren asked the state’s high court to overturn the Public Service Commission’s November 2024 certificate for the JETx line and to stop PSC proceedings while the challenge proceeds.
- Plaintiffs say the commission used the wrong statute, gave only brief newspaper notices instead of direct notice, and held an informal hearing that kept affected landowners from presenting evidence.
- The PSC and the utilities Otter Tail Power and Montana‑Dakota Utilities argue procedures matched past practice, the record supports approval, and JETx is needed to boost grid reliability around Jamestown.
- The Supreme Court held virtual oral arguments and has taken the case under advisement, leaving unresolved whether the certificate is void and whether the PSC may continue routing and siting work.
- Separately, the PSC voted to grant a route permit for the roughly 90‑mile project that uses towers up to 150 feet tall across Dickey, LaMoure and Stutsman counties, but that permit faces the pending legal challenge which could alter or pause construction plans.