Commission Agendas | previous page
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
Monday, November 29, 1999; 2:30 P.M.
State Capitol Building, Room 412
Pierre, South Dakota
NOTE: If you wish to join this meeting by conference call, please contact the Commission at 605-773- 3201 by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 26, 1999. Please keep in mind that a limited number of telephone lines are available. Every effort should be made for parties in the same city to be on the same line when calling in.
NOTE: Notice is further given to persons with disabilities that this Commission meeting is being held in a physically accessible place. If you have special needs, please notify the Commission and we will make all necessary arrangements.
AGENDA OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Administration
1. Approval Of The Minutes Of The Commission Meetings Held On November 15 and 19, 1999. (Staff: Shirleen Fugitt.)
Consumer Issues
1. Status Report On Consumer Utility Inquiries And Complaints Recently Received By The Commission. (Consumer Affairs: Leni Healy.)
The Commission has received 2785 consumer contacts during 1999. 413 contacts have been received since the November 15, 1999, Commission meeting.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: 392 of the contacts involved telecommunications. 340 of the contacts concerning the unauthorized switching of long distance service; 18 contacts involved higher rates than promised, 7 contacts involved held orders, 6 contacts involved unauthorized billing for services, 6 contacts involved billing issues, and the remaining issues were unburied cable, cell phone, collect calls, disconnection, long distance block, local slamming, refund, poor service, and telemarketers.
ELECTRICITY: 18 of the contacts involved electricity issues. 9 contacts concerned surcharges for area improvement, 3 contacts involved high bills, 2 contacts concerned disconnection, and the remaining issues were cross wiring, service area trade, transfer of an old billing, and not receiving credit for a payment.
NATURAL GAS: 3 contacts involving natural gas were reported. 2 contacts involved disconnections and one contact involved poor service.
1916 complaints have been resolved informally during 1999.
Natural Gas
Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU) received a net refund of $1,581,377 from Williston Basin pursuant to a FERC order in the month of October. As a means of returning the net refund to the appropriate customers, MDU is proposing to implement an out-of-cycle surcharge adjustment to be effective December 1, 1999 through April 30, 2000.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the surcharge adjustment?
Complaint Dockets
On August 5, 1999, the Commission received a complaint by Lou Schuelke on behalf of Lazy S Campground, Hill City, South Dakota, against U S WEST Communications, Inc. regarding poor service and request to have lines updated. The Complainant alleges poor service resulting in outages of several days. The Complainant seeks the following relief: "I feel the Public Utilities needs to investigate U S WEST and put on some pressure so they either upgrade or do something to improve our service." Probable cause was found in this matter on August 17, 1999. A hearing was scheduled for November 18, 1999.
TODAY, if the matter is resolved, shall the Commission dismiss the complaint and close the docket?
On November 8, 1999, the Commission received a complaint from Tom and Corliss Vergeldt, Aberdeen, South Dakota, against MCI. The Complainants allege that a telemarketer promised they would get a rate of 5 cents per minute, any time of the day or night. The Complainants claim they questioned the telemarketer twice to confirm the rate. When they received the material sent by MCI, the Complainants discovered that their rates were not as described by the telemarketer. The Complainants called the numbers provided several times to get the service canceled. A representative of MCI indicated that they were not customers of MCI. They received a billing with high rates from MCI. The Complainants are seeking to have the charges dismissed, a $1000 damage award and a $20,000 fine levied.
TODAY, does the Commission find probable cause of an unlawful or unreasonable act, rate, practice or omission to go forward with this complaint and serve it upon the Respondent?
On November 9, 1999, the Commission received a complaint from Ardelle Fosheim on behalf of L & M Land Management. The Complainant alleges that Accutel added charges to their telecommunications billing without authorization. The Complainant seeks to have all charges associated with this activity removed and $1000 penalty for inconvenience.
TODAY, does the Commission find probable cause of an unlawful or unreasonable act, rate, practice or omission to go forward with this complaint and serve it upon the Respondent?
On November 12, 1999, the Commission received a complaint from Rose Bertsch, Aberdeen, South Dakota, against WilTel, Inc. regarding unauthorized switching of services. The Complainant alleges that she received a call from someone indicating that they were an employee of her local company wishing to combine her billing. As a result, WilTel is listed on her billing. The Complainant claims she did not authorize WilTel to switch her service. The Complainant is seeking $1000 in penalties.
TODAY, does the Commission find probable cause of an unlawful or unreasonable act, rate, practice or omission to go forward with this complaint and serve it upon the Respondent?
On November 15, 1999, the Commission received a complaint from Wayne Crockett indicating that his long distance service was switched from MCI to AT&T without his authorization. He indicated that the billing had been corrected, but he is not satisfied.
TODAY, does the Commission find probable cause of an unlawful or unreasonable act, rate, practice or omission to go forward with this complaint and serve it upon the Respondent?
On November 17, 1999, the Commission received a formal complaint from Edith Johnson indicating that her service was switched from AT&T to MCI without her permission. The Complainant is seeking to have the charges removed.
TODAY, does the Commission find probable cause of an unlawful or unreasonable act, rate, practice or omission to go forward with this complaint and serve it upon the Respondent?
On November 18, 1999, the Commission received a formal complaint from Nancy Van Heerde indicating that Ms. Van Heerde's long distance service had been switched to Furst Group by a deceptive telemarketer. Furst Group has issued a partial credit for an error concerning the Complainant's address. Furst Group has provided a tape of the verification conversation. The Complainant is not satisfied with the offered resolution and has requested further consideration by the Commission.
TODAY, does the Commission find probable cause of an unlawful or unreasonable act, rate, practice or omission to go forward with this complaint and serve it upon the Respondent?
Telecommunications
New Edge Network, Inc. (New Edge) seeks a Certificate of Authority to provide facilities-based and resold local exchange and interexchange telecommunication services in South Dakota. New Edge intends to provide services in U S West territories.
TODAY, shall the Commission grant a Certificate of Authority to New Edge Network, Inc.?
U S WEST Communications, Inc. and JATO Communications, Corp. filed an interconnection agreement for Commission approval on October 28, 1999. The agreement is negotiated and sets forth the terms, conditions and prices under which U S WEST agrees to provide services for resale, certain unbundled network elements, ancillary functions and additional features to JATO Communications Corp. for its offering and provisioning of telecommunications services. The agreement also sets forth the terms, conditions and prices under which the parties agree to interconnect and pay reciprocal compensation for the exchange of local traffic. Parties wishing to comment had until November 19, 1999, to do so.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the Interconnection Agreement?
Announcements
1. The Commission offices will be closed on November 25 and 26, 1999, in observance of Thanksgiving.
2. A hearing in docket CT99-043 (Suing v AT&T) will be held on November 30, 1999, at 1:30pm, at the Oaks Hotel and Convention Center in Sioux Falls.
3. A hearing in docket CT99-028 (Hamption Inn v USWC) will be held on December 1, 1999, at 9am, at the Oaks Hotel and Convention Center in Sioux Falls.
4. A hearing in docket CT99-029 (Baus v Excel) will be held on December 2, 1999, at 9am, at the Oaks Hotel and Convention Center in Sioux Falls.
5. A hearing in docket CT99-045 (GSA v Qwest Communications) will be held on December 6, 1999, at 10:00am CST, in Room 464 of the State Capitol in Pierre.
6. A hearing in docket CT99-042 (Muchow v Creative Opportunities) will be held on December 6, 1999, at 1:30pm CST, in Room 464 of the State Capitol in Pierre.
7. A hearing in docket CT99-040 (Ham v Qwest Communications) will be held on December 7, 1999, at 1:30pm CST, in Room 464 of the State Capitol in Pierre.
8. A hearing in docket CT99-004 (Frankenstein v USWC) will be held on December 9, 1999, at 12:30pm, at the Spink County Courthouse in Redfield, South Dakota.
9. A hearing in docket CT99-018 (Hatch v Qwest Communications, WCS Telecom and Western Communications, Inc.) is scheduled for 1:30pm on December 15, 1999, in Room 412 of the State Capitol.
10. A rules hearing is scheduled for January 10, 2000, in room 468 of the State Capitol.
11. A hearing in docket TC99-107 (Show Cause of Western Telecom/Touchtone) will be held on February 1, 2000, at the Chamber of Commerce Meeting Room in Pierre, South Dakota.
12. The next regularly scheduled Commission meeting will be held Tuesday, December 14, 1999, at 9:30am CST in Room 412 of the State Capitol Building.
Sue Cichos
Deputy Executive Director
Sue.Cichos@state.sd.us
November 22, 1999
