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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
November 7, 2017, at 9:30 A.M. CST
Room 413, Capitol Building
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. CST on Monday, November 6, 2017. Lines are limited and are given out on a first come, first served basis, subject to possible reassignment to accommodate persons who must appear in a proceeding. Ultimately, if you wish to participate in the Commission Meeting and a line is not available, you may have to appear in person. 

NOTE:  To listen to the Commission Meeting live please go to the PUC’s website www.puc.sd.gov and click on the LIVE link on the home page. The Commission requests persons who will only be listening to proceedings and not actively appearing in a case listen via the web cast to free phone lines for those who have to appear.  The Commission meetings are archived on the PUC’s website under the Commission Actions tab. Click on “Commission Meeting Archives,” to access the recordings.

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 COMMISSION MEETING

Administration

1.    Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on October 24, 2017 (Staff: Joy Lashley)

Consumer Reports

1.     Status Report on Consumer Utility Inquiries and Complaints Received by the Commission (Consumer Affairs: Deb Gregg)

Electric

1.     EL17-041     In the Matter of the Request for Approval of an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between Colman Municipal Electric and Otter Tail Power Company (Staff Analyst: Darren Kearney; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)

On October 2, 2017, Commission Staff filed an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between Colman Municipal Electric and Otter Tail Power Company. This filing is made pursuant to current efforts of the PUC to verify electric territory mapping data for conversion to electronic format and use in a Geographic Information System (GIS) database. With the assistance of the above-referenced utilities, Commission Staff has confirmed the service territory boundary shared by these utilities and has prepared updated mapping information. Commission Staff asks for approval of the agreement to update official mapping data to properly reflect the service territory boundaries shared by the utilities in this docket.

     TODAY, shall the Commission approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreement?

2.     EL17-043     In the Matter of the Joint Request for Service Rights Exception between Whetstone Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Otter Tail Power Company (Staff Analyst: Joseph Rezac; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)

On October 10, 2017, the Commission received a Petition from Whetstone Valley Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Whetstone) and Otter Tail Power Company (Otter Tail) for a service rights exception. The customer is requesting single phase service to a tile pump located in Otter Tail’s service territory. Whetstone can provide service to the tile pump using its facilities approximately 100 feet away. Otter Tail has facilities available approximately 1,500 feet from the service location. The customer will be responsible for the cost to extend service.

     TODAY, shall the Commission approve the requested service rights exception between Otter Tail and Whetstone?

3.     EL17-047     In the Matter of the Application of Crowned Ridge Wind, LLC for a Facility Permit to Construct a 230-kV Transmission Line and Associated Facilities from Codington County to the Big Stone South Substation (Staff Analysts: Darren Kearney, Jon Thurber; Staff Attorneys: Kristen Edwards, Amanda Reiss)

On October 27, 2017, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (Commission) received a facility permit application (Application) from Crowned Ridge Wind, LLC (Crowned Ridge). Crowned Ridge proposes to construct a new reactive power compensation substation and an approximately 34-mile 230-kilovolt (kV) generation tie line that will connect two 300 megawatt (MW) wind projects (Crowned Ridge Wind (CRW) and Crowned Ridge Wind II (CRW II)) to the Big Stone South Substation owned by Otter Tail Power Company. Together the new reactive power compensation substation and 34-mile generation tie line are the Project. The planned Crowned Ridge Wind facilities will be permitted separately and are not included as a part of the Project. The generation tie line will be located in Codington and Grant counties, South Dakota, while the new reactive compensation substation will be located in Grant County. The Project is expected to be in service by December 31, 2019. Crowned Ridge estimates the total construction cost to be approximately $30 million for a single circuit transmission line plus approximately $8.5 million for the associated substation, or $40 million for a double circuit transmission line plus approximately $8 million for the associated substation.

     TODAY, shall the Commission assess a filing fee not to exceed $120,000 with an initial deposit of $8,000? And shall the Commission authorize the Executive Director to enter into necessary consulting contracts?

Pipeline Safety

1.     PS15-001     In the Matter of the Filing by Commission Pipeline Safety Staff for Approval of a Penalty for a Pipeline Safety Violation by Humboldt Municipal Gas Utilities (Pipeline Safety Inspectors: Mary Zanter, Boice Hillmer; Staff Attorney: Kristen Edwards)

On August 13, 2015, Staff filed a Complaint alleging violations discovered during a March 2015, inspection of Humboldt Municipal Gas Utilities (Humboldt). In the Complaint, Staff sought penalties for the violations. The deadline to answer the Complaint was September 2, 2015. Humboldt did not file an answer to the Complaint. This matter came before the Commission on September 15, 2015. The Commission deferred the docket at that time as no members of the Humboldt Gas Board were available to answer questions. This docket was discussed at the Ad Hoc Commission meeting on September 24, 2015. On October 5, 2015, Humboldt filed a letter in the docket detailing their plan for compliance. On October 13, 2015, this docket was discussed at the regular Commission meeting. At that time, the Commission posed several questions to Humboldt and requested this matter be placed on the next agenda to give Humboldt time to gather more information. On October 20, 2015, Staff filed a Stipulation and Agreement (Stipulation) setting forth specific conditions. The Commission issued an Order Approving Stipulation on November 2, 2015. Since that time, Humboldt has made regular informational filings pursuant to the terms of the Stipulation. As agreed to in the Stipulation, Staff filed a Request to Dismiss and Close Docket after Humboldt satisfactorily filed updates for two years.

     TODAY, shall the Commission dismiss the complaint and close the docket? OR, how shall the Commission proceed?

Telecommunications

1.     TC17-063     In the Matter of the Petition for a Declaratory Ruling by Department of Public Safety/911 Coordination Board regarding Determining Responsibility for Rural Carrier Interconnection to the Next Generation 9-1-1 System (Staff Analysts: Joseph Rezac, Patrick Steffensen; Staff Attorneys: Kristen Edwards, Amanda Reiss)

On October 27, 2017, the Commission received a Petition for a Declaratory Ruling from the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, 911 Coordination Board, to resolve the following issue: Whether it is NextGen Communications, Inc. (NextGen) or the rural carriers comprising South Dakota Telecommunications Association (SDTA) that has the responsibility to transport 911 traffic between the rural carriers’ service areas and NextGen’s centralized points of interconnection. On October 30, 2017, NextGen and SDTA each filed petitions to intervene in the docket.

     TODAY, shall the Commission grant intervention to any parties that may have filed?

Items for Commission Discussion

2017 Info EL9 - Notification of Sweetland Wind Farm, LLC regarding Sweetland Wind Farm in Hand County, South Dakota

In order to qualify the Sweetland Wind Farm for the full federal Production Tax Credit (PTC), Sweetland Wind Farm, LLC (Sweetland) contracted with a third party to excavate three planned turbine foundation sites and to construct approximately 2,300 linear feet of 14-foot-wide access road between the three excavations. At the time of undertaking the PTC-qualification work, Sweetland representatives stated they were was not aware that an energy facility permit from the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (Commission) was required before conducting such work. Sweetland representatives met with PUC staff after learning of the oversight, and requested an opportunity to inform the Commission of the situation

Announcements

  1. PUC commissioners and staff will meet with representatives of Xcel Energy on Tuesday, November 7, 2017, at 1:00 p.m. CST in Room 413 the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D. The agenda includes the company’s North Dakota Resource Treatment Framework, a nuclear update, and a South Dakota update.

  2. The PUC office will be closed Friday, November 10, 2017, in observance of the Veterans Day holiday.

  3. Commissioners will attend the Critical Consumer Issues Forum’s Annual Kickoff Forum on Saturday, November 11, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. EST at the Hilton Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland.

  4. Commissioners will attend the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Annual Meeting and Education Conference, November 12-15, 2017, at the Hilton Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland.

  5. The next regularly scheduled commission meeting will be Tuesday, November 21, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. CST in Room 413 at the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D.

  6. The PUC office will be closed November 23-24, 2017, in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

  7. A public input hearing for docket EL17-042 - In the Matter of the Application of Otter Tail Power Company for an Energy Conversion Facility Permit for the Construction of a Combustion Turbine Generator and Associated Infrastructure Including a Natural Gas Pipeline and Electric Transmission Line near Astoria, South Dakota, will be held Monday, November 27, 2017, at 6:30 p.m. CST in the Deubrook Elementary School Gymnasium, Toronto, S.D.

  8. Commission meetings are scheduled for December 5 and 19, 2017.

/s/Cindy Kemnitz     .
Cindy Kemnitz
Finance Manager
PUC Email
October 31, 2017