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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
Wednesday, December 12, 2001; 1:30 P.M.
State Capitol Building, Room 412
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Chairman Burg called the meeting to order. Present were Commissioner Pam Nelson; Executive Director Deb Elofson; Deputy Executive Director Sue Cichos; Commission Advisor Greg Rislov; Commission Counsel Rolayne Ailts Wiest; Staff Attorney Karen Cremer; Staff Analysts Charlene Lund, Dave Jacobson, Harlan Best, Heather Forney, Keith Senger, Mary Healy and Michele Farris; and Administrative Secretary Mary Giddings.
Also present were Bob Miller, SD Electric Utility Companies; Steve Wegman, Governor's Office; and Lori Grode, Court Reporter.
Joining the meeting by telephone were Kevin Kouba, Dave Prazak, and Bernadeen Brutlag, Otter Tail Power Co.; Mary Hobson, Stoel Rives Law Firm; Mary Lohnes, Midcontinent Communications;
Gary Witt and Sandy Hofstetter, AT&T; Tom Welk, Colleen Sevold, Jeff Carmon and John Munn, Qwest Corporation; Greg Bernard and Kyle White, Black Hills FiberCom; Don Lee, Jolyn Doering and Christi De Witte, Martin Group; Suzan Stewart and Marv Sorenson, MidAmerican Energy Company; Dave Semerad, West River Electric Association, Inc.; Stuart Wevik, Black Hills Power and Light; and Jim Wilcox, Xcel Energy.
Administration
1. Commission Meetings Held On November 27 and 29, 2001. (Staff: Mary Giddings.)
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the minutes of the Commission meetings held on November 27 and 29, 2001. Chairman Burg seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Consumer Issues
1. Status Report On Consumer Utility Inquiries And Complaints Recently Received By The Commission. (Consumer Affairs: Mary Healy.)
Ms. Healy presented an update on inquiries and complaints received since the last Commission meeting.
Ms. Lund noted that the matter had been settled and recommended that the complaint be dismissed and the docket closed.
Commissioner Nelson moved to dismiss the complaint and close the docket. Chairman Burg seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Electric
Dave Prazak, representing Otter Tail Power Company, explained the contract with deviations and requested it be effective as soon as possible. Ms. Farris explained the price increase and recommended that the contract with deviations be approved.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the contract with deviations with the date of the order as the effective date. Chairman Burg seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Ms. Cremer recommended that David S. Lamb and Andrea Andersen be granted party status as individuals.
Chairman Burg moved to grant party status to David S. Lamb and Andrea Andersen as individuals. Commissioner Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Dave Prazak, representing Otter Tail Power Company (OTP), explained the filing and requested an approval date of January 1, 2002. Kevin Kouba, OTP, noted that work was proceeding on the generator. Mr. Jacobson recommended that the filing be approved.
Chairman Burg moved to approve the filing. Commission Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Bernadeen Brutlag, representing Otter Tail Power Company (OTP), explained the changes to the brochure. Ms. Forney recommended approval as revised. The Commissioners complimented OTP on the changes to the brochure, making it more user friendly.
Chairman Burg moved to approve the customer information brochure. Commissioner Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Jim Wilcox, representing Xcel Energy, explained the changes to the brochure. Ms. Lund recommended that the revised brochure be approved. Commissioner Nelson and Chairman Burg made a number of recommendations for changes to the brochure including the amount charged for a returned check and the address of the various payment locations. Mr. Jacobson noted that there was an additional charge for use of some of the drop off- locations. Jim Wilcox agreed to the recommended changes to the brochure and will work with Staff to include them in the brochure.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the customer brochure, subject to the recommended changes. Chairman Burg seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Kevin Kouba, representing Otter Tail Power Company, explained the proposed agreement. Ms. Farris recommended that the boundary change be approved as all parties were in agreement.
Chairman Burg moved to approve the Service Territory Agreement. Commissioner Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
David Semerad, representing West River Electric Association, explained the agreement. Stuart Wevik, representing Black Hills Power, further explained the agreement and noted that all parties were in agreement. Ms. Farris explained removing the "frozen" customer status and recommended that the agreement be approved.
Chairman Burg moved to approve the Service Territory Agreement. Commissioner Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Natural Gas
Suzan Stewart, representing MidAmerican Energy Company, stated that MidAmerican had no objection to the State of South Dakota's petition to intervene. Ms. Wiest recommended the following procedural schedule: Staff testimony due January 23, 2002; company re al due February 6, 2002; and the hearing to be held on February 20 and 21, 2002.
Chairman Burg moved to grant intervention to the State of South Dakota with Staff testimony due January 23, 2002; company re al due February 6, 2002; and the hearing held on February 20 and 21, 2002. Commissioner Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Telecommunications
Don Lee, Martin Group, explained the revenue requirement. Mr. Senger recommended that the revenue requirement be approved.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the revenue requirement. Chairman Burg seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Don Lee, Martin Group, explained the revenue requirement. Mr. Senger recommended that the revenue requirement be approved.
Chairman Burg moved to approve the revenue requirement. Commissioner Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Mr. Jacobson explained the transfer, noted that the gross receipts tax had been paid and recommended that the transfer be approved with restrictions from offering prepaid calling cards, accepting advance payments and customer deposits.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the transfer with restrictions from offering prepaid calling cards, accepting advance payments and customer deposits. Chairman Burg seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Ms. Forney recommended that the withdrawal of the filing and closing of the docket be approved.
Chairman Burg moved to grant the withdrawal of the filing and he further moved to close the docket. Commissioner Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Action was deferred.
Ms. Forney explained the application of TDI Communications, Inc. for a certificate of authority and recommended that it be approved with a waiver of ARSD 20:10:24:02(08) and subject to a continuous $25,000 surety bond.
Commissioner Nelson moved to grant a certificate of authority to TDI Communications, Inc. with a waiver of ARSD 20:10:24:02(08) and subject to a continuous $25,000 surety bond. Chairman Burg seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Mr. Senger explained the application of United Systems Access Telecom, Inc. for a certificate of authority and recommended that it be approved with a waiver of ARSD 20:10:24:02(08); restrictions from offering prepaid calling cards, accepting advance payments and customer deposits; and with an effective date of December 26, 2001.
Commissioner Nelson moved to grant a certificate of authority to United Systems Access Telecom, Inc. with a waiver of ARSD 20:10:24:02(08); restrictions from offering prepaid calling cards, accepting advance payments and customer deposits; and with an effective date of December 26, 2001. Chairman Burg seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Ms. Wiest proposed the following schedule: January 18, 2002, intervenors identify disputed issues; February 7, 2002, prehearing conference; March 18, 2002, intervenor's testimony due; April 2, 2002, Qwest re al testimony; April 22-26, 2002, hearing. John Munn, representing Qwest, explained its opposition to the schedule stating that it is not timely and the hearing is too late which is not fair to the consumer. Commissioner Nelson noted that Qwest has had since 1996 to address this issue. Kyle White, representing Black Hills FiberCom, stated that these were very important issues that needed time to be addressed. Greg Bernard, Black Hills FiberCom, requested a one-month delay to allow time to participate. Mary Lohnes, Midcontinent Communications, stated that the time line was acceptable to them. Gary Witt, representing AT&T, stated his concern with providing the Commission with the needed data and noted that the proposed schedule was reasonable. Ms. Cremer stated that the schedule was acceptable to Staff. Chairman Burg stated that the Commission Staff will be considered a separate party for this proceding.
Chairman Burg moved to adopt the following schedule: January 18, 2002, intervenors identify disputed issues; February 7, 2002, prehearing conference; March 18, 2002, intervenor's testimony due; April 2, 2002, Qwest re al testimony; April 22-26, 2002, hearing. Commissioner Nelson seconded. Motion passed 2-0.
Action was deferred.
Action was deferred.
Meeting adjourned.
_________________________________________
Mary R. Giddings
Administrative Secretary
