FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 3, 2017
CONTACT: Leah Mohr, deputy executive director, South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, (605) 773-3201 or (605) 280-4327

Fiegen gains leadership position in regional transmission organization

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Chairperson Kristie Fiegen has been named vice president of the Southwest Power Pool’s Regional State Committee. The committee provides state regulatory agency input related to the development and operation of regional bulk electric transmission in 14 states in the central U.S. Fiegen previously served as the group’s secretary.

SPP oversees the bulk electric grid and wholesale power market among its members in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. The Regional State Committee is charged with recommending cost allocation policies that determine the amount electricity customers pay for the cost of building and operating transmission lines that cross several states in the SPP region.

“The work of the Regional State Committee is particularly important now as transmission projects are being planned and developed across our region,” Fiegen said. “The cost of transmission accounts for a significant portion of the rate electric customers pay. As state regulators, we are especially keyed into fairly weighing the electric reliability demands of our region and the impact to customer bills,” she stated.

Fiegen is serving her sixth year on the PUC. She was appointed to the commission in August 2011 and won election to a six-year term in November 2012. Fiegen is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Committee on Gas and Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety, and serves on the Gas Technology Institute’s Public Interest Advisory Committee.

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MEDIA NOTE: Download a photo of the Southwest Power Pool Regional State Committee leadership, including South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen, at http://puc.sd.gov/2017spp.