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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
December 5, 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, December 4, 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 November 7, 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.     EL16-008     In the Matter of the Request for Approval of an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy and Southeastern Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Staff Analyst: Lorena Reichert; Staff Attorney: Kristen Edwards)

On March 7, 2016, Commission Staff (Staff) filed an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy and Southeastern Electric Cooperative, Inc. On November 28, 2017, Staff filed a revised agreement and revised maps. 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, Staff has confirmed the service territory boundary shared by these utilities and has prepared updated mapping information. 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.     EL17-019     In the Matter of the Petition of Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy for Approval of Its 2016 Demand Side Management Report and 2018 Proposed Demand Side Management Plan (Staff Analysts: Darren Kearney, Lorena Reichert; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)

On April 29, 2017, the Commission received a Petition from Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy (Xcel) requesting approval of the 2016 Demand Side Management (DSM) Status Report and 2018 DSM Plan. Specifically, Xcel requests approval of its 2016 DSM Tracker account, the incentive earned for 2016 program performance, the proposed 2018 DSM Cost Adjustment Factor of $0.000515 per kWh, and the proposed DSM Plan for 2018. On October 12, 2017, Xcel filed an updated Petition and revisions to the proposed 2018 DSM Plan. On October 13, 2017, Xcel filed its responses to Staff’s data requests and revised the proposed 2018 DSM Cost Adjustment Factor from $0.000515 per kWh to $0.000510 per kWh. Xcel requests an effective date of January 1, 2018, for the DSM Cost Adjustment Factor. 

     TODAY, shall the Commission approve Xcel’s 2016 DSM Status Report and tracker account, the performance incentive earned for 2016, the proposed 2018 DSM Plan, and the proposed 2018 DSM Cost Adjustment Factor of $0.000510 per kWh with a January 1, 2018, effective date?

Natural Gas

1.     NG17-011     In the Matter of the Filing by MidAmerican Energy Company for Approval of Tariff Revisions regarding Farm Tap Service (Staff Analysts: Brittany Mehlhaff, Mary Zanter, Patrick Steffensen; Staff Attorneys: Kristen Edwards, Amanda Reiss)

On July 24, 2017, MidAmerican Energy Company (MidAmerican) filed a letter requesting a docket be opened to consider a proposal that would allow MidAmerican to provide services to a number of farm tap customers connected to an interstate pipeline owned and operated by Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern), as a result of discussions between MidAmerican and Commission Staff (Staff). On August 23, 2017, the Commission issued an Order Approving Tariff Revisions on Less than 30 Days’ Notice. On October 30, 2017, the Commission issued an Order Approving Tariff Revisions. The tariff revisions approved by the Commission include a requirement for initial safety inspections of the customer-owned farm tap facilities prior to commencing service with MidAmerican. In the event the customer-owned service line does not comply with the safety requirements outlined in the tariff, the service line must be repaired or replaced before the customer may begin taking service. MidAmerican has remained in contact with Staff during this transition period. A number of customers have not responded to MidAmerican’s communications and as such MidAmerican does not know the customers’ intentions for transitioning to MidAmerican service and safety inspections have not been completed. In addition, some customers that have failed the safety inspection process have not responded to MidAmerican on how they would like to proceed and therefore the service lines have not been repaired. Customers whose facilities have not been inspected or have not repaired necessary service lines will not meet the requirements of MidAmerican’s tariff to begin service January 1, 2018. NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy will cease to provide services after December 31, 2017, upon the expiration of its contract with Northern. As the owner and operator of the transmission pipeline, Northern has indicated it will shut off customer valves soon after January 1, 2018. At this time, the parties have not reached a solution to avoid customer gas service being turned off in January 2018. Staff wishes to inform the Commission of the situation and allow the Commission an opportunity to ask questions of the parties regarding the transition process. Additionally, MidAmerican has identified some master meter operators during the safety check process. A master meter exists if more than one customer is served off of a single meter. Master meters are considered distribution systems and fall under the jurisdiction of pipeline safety. The distribution systems are required to follow the same PHMSA rules as other distribution systems and need to have inspections, records, maintenance plans, operator qualification, drug and alcohol plans, etc. Staff wishes to inform the Commission of these situations and allow the Commission an opportunity to ask questions of the parties regarding the transition process and master meter operators.

     TODAY, how shall the Commission proceed?

2.     NG17-017     In the Matter of the Joint Request of MidAmerican Energy Company and NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy for a Waiver of  Initial and Final Meter Reading Requirements (Staff Analysts: Brittany Mehlhaff, Mary Zanter; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)

On November 14, 2017, the Commission received a joint filing from MidAmerican Energy Company (MidAmerican) and NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern) requesting a waiver of initial and final meter reading requirements. MidAmerican and NorthWestern are in the process of transitioning the provision of certain services for a certain group of farm tap customers. The requirements of ARSD 20:10:17:02 appear to require NorthWestern to obtain a final meter read on behalf of Northern Natural Gas and MidAmerican to obtain an initial meter read. MidAmerican and NorthWestern propose to perform a single meter read and share information in order to comply with the requirement to have an initial and final meter read. The companies state the waiver request is designed to make this transition more efficient and therefore more cost-effective for all customers.

     TODAY, shall the Commission grant a waiver of ARSD 20:10:17:02 and allow MidAmerican and NorthWestern to perform a single meter read and share information to comply with the requirement to have an initial and final meter read? 

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)

Commission meetings are scheduled for January 3 and 16, 2018.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. On November 7, 2017, the Commission granted intervention to NextGen and SDTA. On November 9, 2017, South Dakota Network, LLC (SDN) filed a petition to intervene in the docket. On November 17, 2017, the 911 Coordination Board filed a request for waiver of the sixty day deadline pursuant to ARSD 20:10:01:35 and predicated upon agreement of all parties to a proposed procedural schedule. On November 21, 2017, the Commission granted intervention to SDN.

     TODAY, shall the Commission grant the request for waiver of the sixty day deadline pursuant to ARSD 20:10:01:35 and the proposed procedural schedule?

Items for Commission Discussion

Announcements

  1. The next regularly scheduled commission meeting will be Tuesday, December 19, 2017, at 9:30 a.m. CST in Room 413 at the State Capitol Building, Pierre, S.D.

  2. Commissioners and staff will meet with representatives of the South Dakota Electric Utility Companies on Tuesday, December 19, 2017, at noon CST at the Associated General Contractors conference room, 300 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, S.D. The agenda is to discuss company activities.

  3. Commissioners and staff will meet with representatives of NorthWestern Energy on Tuesday, December 19, 2017, at 3:00 p.m. CST in Room 413 at the State Capitol, Pierre, S.D. The agenda is to discuss an update of NorthWestern Energy’s operations, finance and customer service activities.

  4. The PUC office will be closed December 25-26, 2017, in observance of the Christmas holiday.

  5. The PUC office will be closed Monday, January 1, 2018, in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday.

  6. Commission meetings are scheduled for January 3 and 16, 2018.

/s/Cindy Kemnitz     .
Cindy Kemnitz
Finance Manager
PUC Email
November 28, 2017