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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
September 13, 2022, at 9:30 A.M. CDT
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
NOTE: Docket participants who wish to join this meeting by conference call should contact the Commission at 605-773-3201 by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Monday, September 12, 2022, to reserve a phone line. Lines are limited and assigned 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 docket discussion at 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 webcast 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 August 18 and 30, 2022 (Staff: Janeth Merriman)
Consumer Reports
1. Status Report on Consumer Utility Inquiries (Consumer Affairs: Deb Gregg)
Telecommunications
1. TC22-051 In the Matter of the Unbundling and Resale Requirements Amendment to the Interconnection Agreement between Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC and FiberComm, L.C. for the State of South Dakota (Staff Analyst: Eric Paulson; Staff Attorney: Kristen Edwards)
On August 2, 2022, the Commission received a filing pursuant to 47 U.S.C. § 252 for approval of the FCC Modernizing Unbundling and Resale Requirements Amendment to the Interconnection Agreement between Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC (CenturyLink) and FiberComm, L.C.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the amendment to the interconnection agreement?
2. TC22-052 In the Matter of the Filing of Intrado Communications, LLC for Approval of Revisions to Its Access Services Tariff No. 2 (Staff Analyst: Brittany Mehlhaff; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)
On August 3, 2022, the Commission received a filing by Intrado Communications, LLC (Intrado) for approval of revisions to its Access Services Tariff No. 2. This filing brings Intrado’s tariff into compliance with the 8YY Access Service reductions mandated in the Federal Communications Commission’s October 9, 2020, Report and Order in WC Docket No. 18-156. Intrado requests an effective date of August 4, 2022. On August 24, 2022, Intrado filed revised tariff pages.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the requested tariff changes with an effective date of August 4, 2022?
Electric
1. EL22-017 In the Matter of the Application of Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy for Authority to Increase its Electric Rates (Staff Analysts: Brittany Mehlhaff, Patrick Steffensen, Eric Paulson, Joseph Rezac; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)
On June 30, 2022, the Commission received an application by Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy (Xcel) for approval to increase rates for electric service to customers in its South Dakota service territory by approximately $44.1 million annually or approximately 17.9% based on Xcel’s 2021 historic test year. Xcel states a typical residential electric customer using 750 kWh per month would see an increase of $19.58 per month. The proposed changes affect approximately 97,500 customers. On July 22, 2022, the Commission issued an Order Suspending Operation of Proposed Rates; Order Assessing Filing Fee; Order Authorizing Consulting Contracts. In response to the Notice of Change in Rates, multiple customers of Xcel have filed comments requesting the rate be suspended and a public hearing be held.
TODAY, how shall the Commission proceed?
2. EL22-021 In the Matter of the Filing by Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a Subsidiary of MDU Resources Group Inc., a Request for Waiver of Fuel and Purchase Power Adjustment Rate 58 (Staff Analyst: Patrick Steffensen; Staff Attorney: Kristen Edwards)
On August 3, 2022, the Commission received a filing from Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a Subsidiary of MDU Resources Group Inc. (MDU) for a waiver of the Fuel and Purchased Power Adjustment (FPPA) Rate 58 tariff to allow MDU to retain the Production Tax Credits (PTCs) from the repowering of Diamond Willow Wind Phase 1. MDU is currently in the process of repowering Diamond Willow Wind Phase 1 which consists of 13 wind turbines near Baker, Montana. The repowering of Diamond Willow Wind Phase 1 is expected to be completed in late 2022 and will qualify for PTCs for a period of ten years. With this filing, MDU requests a ruling identifying that the new PTCs will not be subject to the provisions of MDU’s FPPA Rate 58 tariff.
TODAY, shall the Commission determine the new production tax credits are not subject to the provisions of Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.’s FPPA Rate 58 tariff?
3. EL22-022 In the Matter of the Petition of Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy for Approval of Its 2023 Transmission Cost Recovery Eligibility and Rate Adjustment (Staff Analyst: Patrick Steffensen; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)
On September 1, 2022, the Commission received a petition from Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy (Xcel) for approval of its 2023 Transmission Cost Recovery (TCR) Rider, TCR rate factor, and tracker account report. For 2023, Xcel proposes recovery of the South Dakota jurisdictional portion of the revenue requirements related to 20 transmission projects located throughout its service territory. Xcel proposes to include 10 new projects for 2023 and proposes to move 20 projects to base rate recovery in Docket EL22-017. Xcel proposes to recover $683,115 associated with the 20 transmission projects for the 2023 calendar year. When combined with the 2022 over-collection balance of $274,327 and MISO RECB credit of $1,258,406, the resulting 2023 revenue requirement is negative $849,618. The total of the transmission investment costs, the MISO RECB credit, and the tracker balance results in an average bill impact of negative $0.29 per month for a typical residential electric customer using 750 kWh per month. This is a decrease of $2.72 per month from the current TCR Rider recovery. Xcel proposes to implement a rate of negative $0.000389 per kWh applied to all energy billed to each customer class beginning January 1 through December 31, 2023. This represents a decrease of $0.003634 from the existing rate of $0.003245 per kWh.
TODAY, shall the Commission assess a filing fee in the amount of up to $50,000 to account for actual expenses incurred in review of this filing commencing from the filing date?
Items for Commission Discussion
Public Comment
Individuals who wish to make public comments to the commission may do so during this time. All who offer public comments are requested to sign in at the commission meeting or let the commission know of their wish to speak when they call in to reserve a phone line. Time limits for comments may be determined at the discretion of the commission.
Announcements
1. Commissioners will attend the Central Electric Cooperative Annual Meeting, Monday, September 26, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. CDT at the Corn Palace, Mitchell, South Dakota.
2. The next regular commission meeting will be Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at 9:30 a.m. CDT in Room 413 at the State Capitol Building, Pierre, South Dakota.
3. Commissioners will attend the 2022 South Dakota Municipal League Annual Conference Thursday, October 6, 2022, at the Watertown Event Center, Watertown, South Dakota.
4. The PUC office will be closed Monday, October 10, 2022, in observance of the Native American Day holiday.
5. Commission meetings are scheduled for October 11 and 27, 2022.
/s/ Cindy Kemnitz .
Cindy Kemnitz
Finance Manager
puc@state.sd.us
September 6, 2022
