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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
March 4, 2014, at 2:30 P.M. CST
Room 414, 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, March 4, 2014. 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
Consumer Reports
1. Status Report on Consumer Utility Inquiries and Complaints Received by the Commission (Consumer Affairs: Deb Gregg)
Electric
On January 21, 2014, Commission Staff filed an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between Charles Mix Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Douglas Electric Cooperative, Inc. 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?
On January 21, 2014, Commission Staff filed an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Charles Mix Electric Cooperative, Inc. 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?
On January 21, 2014, Commission Staff filed an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between Bon Homme Yankton Electric Association, Inc. and Charles Mix Electric Cooperative, Inc. 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?
On February 14, 2014, Black Hills Power, Inc. (BHP) filed an Application for Transmission Facilities Adjustment (TFA). BHP proposes to recover approximately $586,000 associated with two 69 kV transmission rebuild projects. BHP proposes TFA rates effective June 1, 2014, through May 31, 2015. Approximately 65,000 South Dakota customers will be affected by the TFA rate change. The bill increase for a typical residential customer averaging 650 kWh per month will be approximately $0.26 or 0.3%.
TODAY, shall the Commission assess a filing fee in the amount of $50,000 to account for actual expenses incurred in review of this filing commencing from the filing date? AND, shall the Commission give the Executive Director authority to enter into necessary consulting contracts?
One Call
On May 27, 2013, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. filed a complaint against Teupel Construction alleging that Teupel Construction engaged in excavation without a valid locate ticket. Teupel Construction responded to the complaint, admitting that the violation occurred. The One Call Enforcement Panel met on July 30, 2013, and determined that probable cause existed to believe that a violation did occur. The Panel recommended a penalty of $500.00 with $250.00 suspended based upon certain conditions. Teupel Construction did not contest the recommendation. On October 10, 2013, the One Call Board issued an Order Adopting Enforcement Panel Recommendation and to Pursue Collection Action if Necessary. Teupel Construction did make payment of $250.00 but failed to satisfy at least one of the conditions of the suspended penalty. In accordance with SDCL § 49-7A-34, a demand letter for payment of the penalty was sent to Teupel Construction on December 4, 2013. No payment was received.
TODAY, shall the Commission bring an action in the name of the State of South Dakota pursuant to SDCL 49-7A-28 for collection of the penalties? OR, how shall the Commission proceed?
Telecommunications
On January 27, 2014, the Commission received an application from Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC (CenturyLink) for a waiver of the requirement to perform a switched access cost study pursuant to ARSD 20:10:27:02. ARSD 20:10:27:02 requires that an incumbent local exchange carrier submit a cost study no less than once every three years. ARSD 20:10:27:02 also provides that the commission, for good cause shown, may either on its own motion or by application from a carrier's carrier, temporarily waive or suspend any rule in chapters 20:10:27 to 20:10:29, inclusive. CenturyLink requests a waiver of the cost study requirement because (1) many access rates are limited by the federal ruling in the USF/ICC Transformation Order; (2) producing such a study is costly and consumes a great deal of resources; (3) Century Link does not intend to increase access rates at this time; and (4) preliminary analysis based on past studies indicates that a cost study would likely justify higher rates than those from the last submitted study.
TODAY, shall the Commission grant the Waiver of the Switched Access Cost Study as requested by CenturyLink?
Items for Commission Discussion
Announcements
- The PUC will have an exhibit booth at the Sioux Empire Home Show, March 7-9, 2014, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Commissioners will attend the Center for Public Utilities Advisory Council's Current Issues 2014 forum March 9-12, 2014, at the Eldorado Hotel, Santa Fe, N.M.
- The next regularly scheduled commission meeting will be Tuesday, March 18, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. CDT in Room 413 at the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D.
- Commission meetings are scheduled for April 1 and 15, 2014.
/S/Cindy Kemnitz
Cindy Kemnitz
Finance Manager
puc@state.sd.us
February 25, 2014
