Commission Agendas | previous page
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
October 11, 2017, at 1:30 P.M. CDT
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. CDT on Tuesday, October 10, 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 September 26, 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. EL17-028 In the Matter of the Application by Crocker Wind Farm, LLC for a permit of a Wind Energy Facility and a 345 kV Transmission Line in Clark County, South Dakota, for Crocker Wind Farm (Staff Analysts: Jon Thurber, Darren Kearney; Staff Attorneys: Kristen Edwards, Amanda Reiss)
On July 25, 2017, Crocker Wind Farm LLC (Crocker) filed an Application for a Wind Energy Facility and a 345 kV Transmission Line in Clark County (Project). The proposed Project is a 400 megawatt nameplate capacity wind energy facility located on approximately 29,331 acres of privately owned land in Clark County, South Dakota, approximately 8 miles north of Clark, South Dakota. The proposed Project includes up to 200 wind turbines, associated access roads, a new collector substation, an operations and maintenance facility and associated 345 kilovolt transmission in Clark County, South Dakota. The Project will result in the installation of approximately 6.5 miles of overhead transmission that will be wholly located within the Wind Farm’s boundary. The Transmission Line Route will run from a substation in Section 30 of Township 119N, Range 58W to the Point-of-Interconnect (POI), which is located approximately 2 miles north of the town of Crocker in Section 9 of Township 119N, Range 58W. Two routing options from the substation in Section 30 are under consideration. At the POI, the power will transfer to the Basin Electric Groton-to-Watertown 345 kV transmission line, part of the Southwest Power Pool, Inc./Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Transmission line portfolio in Clark County, South Dakota. At its September 26, 2017, meeting the Commission granted intervention to several parties, not including Luke Holzworth. On October 2, 2017, Luke Holzworth emailed the Public Utilities Commission and reiterated his interest to be granted party status in the docket.
TODAY, shall the Commission grant party status to Luke Holzworth?
2. EL17-030 In the Matter of the Filing by Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy for Approval of Revised Welcome Brochures (Staff Analysts: Darren Kearney, Joseph Rezac; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)
On July 26, 2017, Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy (Xcel) filed revised welcome brochures for Commission approval. The welcome brochure is furnished to each new South Dakota customer per ARSD 20:10:16:02. The brochure was redesigned to improve the customer experience while still including the required information outlined within the rule.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the revised welcome brochures?
3. EL17-035 In the Matter of the Petition of Otter Tail Power Company for Approval of the Environmental Cost Recovery Rider Charge (Staff Analysts: Eric Paulson, Joseph Rezac; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)
On August 31, 2017, the Commission received a Petition by Otter Tail Power Company (Otter Tail) for approval of its annual update to the Environmental Cost Recovery (ECR) Rate under Otter Tail’s Environmental Cost Recovery Rider, Rate Schedule 13.08, for the actual and forecasted cost and revenue through the recovery period of November 2017 through October 2018 for Big Stone Plant’s Air Quality Control System and Hoot Lake Plant’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. Otter Tail states the rate impact of this request (for both projects) will decrease the ECR Rate from $0.00536 per kWh to $0.00483 per kWh. The bill decrease for a typical residential customer averaging 955 kWh per month will be approximately $0.51 or 0.58 percent. On September 28, 2017, Otter Tail filed a Supplemental Filing to its initial Petition.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve Otter Tail Power Company’s revised Environmental Cost Recovery Rider Rate and associated tariff revisions with an effective date of November 1, 2017?
4. EL17-039 In the Matter of the Petition of Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy for Approval of its 2018 Infrastructure Rider Project Eligibility and Factor Update (Staff Analysts: Eric Paulson, Joseph Rezac; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)
On September 29, 2017, the Commission received a petition from Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy (Xcel) for approval of its 2018 Infrastructure Rider project eligibility, revised adjustment factor, and tracker account report. Xcel requests approval of project eligibility for three additional projects to be included in the Docket EL14-058 Settlement Agreement Exhibit C that are not already included in the rider, project eligibility of five additional projects, the Infrastructure Rider Tracker Report and true-up for the 2017 revenue requirements of approved project investment and the proposed newly added projects, 2018 Infrastructure Rider revenue requirements of $11.4 million, an updated Infrastructure Rider Adjustment Factor of $0.005367 per kWh, proposed revision to the Infrastructure Rider tariff sheet, and proposed customer notice. Xcel proposes a January 1, 2018, effective date. Xcel states the average bill impact for a residential customer using 750 kWh per month will be increased to $4.03 per month compared to the current average residential bill impact of $4.00 per month under the current rate.
TODAY, shall the Commission assess a filing fee in the amount of up to $250,000 to account for actual expenses incurred in review of this filing commencing from the filing date?
Natural Gas
1. NG17-009 In the Matter of the Application of South Dakota Intrastate Pipeline Company for Authority to Increase its Natural Gas Rates (Staff Analysts: Brittany Mehlhaff, Patrick Steffensen, Eric Paulson; Staff Attorneys: Kristen Edwards, Amanda Reiss)
On June 1, 2017, South Dakota Intrastate Pipeline Company (SDIP) filed with the Commission a Letter of Transmittal requesting authority to increase its natural gas rates. On June 22, 2017, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU) filed a Petition to Intervene. The Commission issued an Order Granting Intervention on July 6, 2017. On June 29, 2017, SDIP filed a confidential application for authority to increase its natural gas rates. On July 11, 2017, MDU filed a Motion for Commission Review requesting the Commission strike SDIP’s claim of confidentiality made in its June 29, 2017, letter and open the docket submissions to MDU and the public for review. The Commission issued an Order Granting Motion for Commission Review and Making the Application Public on August 8, 2017. On October 2, 2017, Staff filed a Motion for Adoption of Procedural Schedule in the docket.
TODAY, shall the Commission issue a procedural schedule?
Telecommunications
1. TC17-062 In the Matter of the Filing by Nebraska Technology & Telecommunications, Inc. for Approval of its Access Tariff (Staff Analyst: Patrick Steffensen; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)
On September 5, 2017, Nebraska Technology & Telecommunications, Inc. filed with the Commission for approval of its original Access Tariff. An effective date of September 15, 2017, was initially requested. On September 22, 2017, Nebraska Technology & Telecommunications, Inc. filed revised tariff pages with various cleanup revisions as recommended by staff, including a revised effective date of October 16, 2017.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve Nebraska Technology & Telecommunications, Inc.’s Access Tariff?
Items for Commission Discussion
Announcements
- The PUC office will be closed Monday, October 9, 2017, in observance of the Native American Day holiday.
- The next regularly scheduled commission meeting will be Tuesday, October 24, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. CDT in Room 413 at the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D.
- Commission meetings are scheduled for November 7 and 21, 2017.
/s/Cindy Kemnitz .
Cindy Kemnitz
Finance Manager
PUC Email
October 3, 2017
