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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
January 19, 2016, at 12:30 P.M. CST
Matthew Training Center, Foss 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 Friday, January 15, 2016. 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 Meetings Held on December 22, 2015, and January 5, 2016 (Staff: Joy Lashley)

Consumer Reports

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

Electric

1.     EL15-046     In the Matter of the Filing of Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy for Approval of Petition of Tariff Revisions to its Customer Data Privacy Tariff (Staff Analyst: Joseph Rezac; Staff Attorney: Adam de Hueck)

On November 20, 2015, the Commission received a filing from Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy (Xcel) for approval of tariff revisions to amend their South Dakota Electric Rate Book to include data privacy tariff sheets. The Company requests it be inserted in Section 1, General Service Rules, of its South Dakota Electric Rate Book. On December 22, 2015, the Commission deferred action on the request. On December 22, 2015, Chairman Nelson filed a letter regarding revisions to the tariff sheets. On December 24, 2015, Vice Chairman Feigen filed a letter regarding revisions to the tariff sheets. On January 7, 2016, Xcel filed updated versions of the proposed tariff sheets.

     TODAY, shall the Commission approve Xcel's tariff revisions?

Rule Making

1.     RM15-001       In the Matter of the Consideration of Rules Regarding Stray Electrical Current and Voltage Remediation (Commission Attorney: Rolayne Ailts Wiest)

On November 4, 2015, Staff filed a letter requesting the Commission open a rulemaking docket to consider the adoption of stray voltage rules. Pursuant to SDCL 49-47-2, the Commission has one year from July 1, 2015, to promulgate stray voltage rules. Staff included draft stray voltage rules and requested that the Commission allow comments to be received from interested persons or entities on the draft rules. Following the comment period, the Commission would then consider the comments and decide whether to make any changes to the draft rules. The next step would be to proceed to the formal rulemaking process. By order dated November 18, 2015, the Commission opened the rulemaking docket and set deadlines for comments. The Commission received comments on the draft rules from interested persons.

     TODAY, shall the Commission make revisions to the proposed rules? And, shall the Commission open a formal rulemaking docket? OR, how shall the Commission proceed?

Telecommunications

1.     TC15-069     In the Matter of the Petition for a Declaratory Ruling by Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC and Dex Media, Inc. regarding Directory Publication (Staff Analyst: Lorena Reichert; Staff Attorney: Adam de Hueck)

On November 13, 2015, the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission received a filing from Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC (CenturyLink) and Dex Media, Inc. (Dex Media) requesting a Declaratory Ruling to clarify whether South Dakota statutes and regulations, specifically SDCL § 49-31-107, ARSD § 20:10:06:03, and ARSD § 20:10:32:10, relating to telephone directories and directory listings, require a paper printed format. On December 10, 2015, CenturyLink and Dex Media responded to staff's data requests. At the regularly scheduled Commission meeting on January 5, 2016, the Commission deferred the docket to the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting.

     TODAY, how shall the Commission rule? OR, how shall the Commission proceed?

2.     TC15-070     In the Matter of the Application of X5 OpCo LLC for a Certificate of Authority to Provide Interexchange Long Distance Services in South Dakota (Staff Analyst: Lorena Reichert; Staff Attorney: Adam de Hueck)

On November 20, 2015, X5 OpCO LLC (X5) filed an application for a Certificate of Authority to provide interexchange long distance services throughout South Dakota. Specifically, X5 proposes to provide intraLATA and interLATA interexchange telecommunications services. On November 30, 2015, and December 28, 2015, X5 responded to staff's data requests.

     TODAY, shall the Commission grant X5 OpCO LLC's request for a Certificate of Authority to provide interexchange services in South Dakota?

Items for Commission Discussion

Announcements

  1. The PUC offices will be closed Monday, January 18, 2016, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

  2. Commissioners and staff will host a briefing for legislators on Tuesday, January 19, 2016, at 4:00 p.m. CST in Room 414 at the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D. The agenda is to discuss the EPA's Clean Power Plan, PUC procedural updates about the Dakota Access Pipeline and Keystone XL Pipeline and current issues related to telecommunications, wind energy, grain warehouses, pipeline safety and energy regulation.

  3. The next regularly scheduled commission meeting will be Monday, February 1, 2016, at 1:30 p.m. CST in Room 413 at the State Capitol, Pierre, S.D.

  4. The PUC will host an open house for legislators Tuesday, February 2, 2016, 7:30-11:00 a.m. CST in the PUC office, first floor of the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D.

  5. Commission meetings are scheduled for February 12 and 26, 2016.

/s/Cindy Kemnitz     
Cindy Kemnitz
Finance Manager
PUC Email
January 12, 2016