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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
February 18, 2014, at 2:30 P.M. CST
Room 414, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Chairman Gary Hanson called the meeting to order. Present were: Commissioners: Chris Nelson and Kristie Fiegen; Commission Counsel: John Smith and Rolayne Wiest; Commission Advisor: Greg Rislov; Staff Attorneys: Karen Cremer and Kristen Edwards; Staff Analysts: Brian Rounds, Robin Meyerink, Darren Kearney, Eric Paulson, Brittany Mehlhaff, David Henry, Jim Mehlhaff, and Patrick Steffensen; Consumer Affairs Supervisor: Deb Gregg; and Staff: Joy Lashley and Katlyn Gustafson
Also present were:
Bill VanCamp, Olinger, Lovald, McCahren & Reimers, P.C., representing AT&T Corp.; Brett Koenecke, May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson, representing Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy and Otter Tail Power Company; Tom Hillstrom, Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy; Kevin Kouba, Otter Tail Power Company; and Pam Bonrud, NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy
Joining the meeting by telephone were:
Tim McCarthy, Sioux Valley Energy Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Brian Bultje, Central Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Joe Samuel, Jim Wilcox, and Eric Pauli, Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy; Bruce Gerhardson, Stuart Tommerdahl, Debbie Opatz, Dean Pawlowski, and Dave Prazak, Otter Tail Power Company; Jesse Sorenson and Walker Witt, Black Hills Electric Cooperative; Julie Oost, IntelePeer, Inc.; Ryan Tackett and Dana Hoyle, Broadvox-CLEC, LLC; Louie Schwengler and Glynda Rahn, Black Hills Power; and Brent Brown, Volga Municipal Electric
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on January 27, 2014 (Staff: Joy Lashley)
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the minutes of the Commission meeting held on January 27, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
Consumer Reports
1. Status Report on Consumer Utility Inquiries and Complaints Received by the Commission (Consumer Affairs: Deb Gregg)
The Commission received a total of 138 contacts since the last report was prepared for the January 27, 2014 Commission meeting.
18 of the contacts involved telecommunication services, 38 of the contacts involved electrical services, 7 of the contacts involved natural gas service, 11 contacts involved cell phone service, 32 contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, 1 contact was related to Wind Energy, 3 contacts were related to One Call, 2 contacts were related to the Keystone XL Pipeline and 26 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
1,858 of the 1,860 complaints received in 2013 have been resolved.
310 of the 339 complaints received in 2014 have been resolved.
Electric
A lengthy discussion took place regarding docket EL13-020. An audio of the discussion can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2014, February 18, 2014, recording located at: http://puc.sd.gov/commission/media/2014/puc02182014.mp3.
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant the Motion for Approval of Settlement Stipulation and approve the terms and conditions stipulated therein, subject to the condition that Paragraph 111.4.e) be amended to include the email address of applicants' contact person. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Stuart Tommerdahl, Otter Tail Power Company (OTP) requested that the Commission approve its 2014 Transmission Cost Recovery (TCR) Rider and the Joint Motion for Approval of Settlement Stipulation and Settlement Stipulation, with a proposed effective date for the revised TCR rate of March 1, 2014. Ms. Karen Cremer, staff attorney, recommended that the Commission grant the Joint Motion for Approval of the Settlement Stipulation and adopt the attached Stipulation without modification for resolution of all issues for docket EL-13-029.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to grant the Joint Motion for Approval of the Settlement Stipulation and approve the rates, terms and conditions stipulated therein effective March 1, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. David Henry, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve the proposed electric territory boundary agreement between Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Northern States Power Company d/b/a Xcel Energy.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreement. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. David Henry, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve the proposed electric territory boundary agreement between Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Pukwana Municipal Electric.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreement. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. David Henry, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve the proposed electric territory boundary agreement between Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Sioux Valley Energy Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreement. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. David Henry, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve the proposed electric territory boundary agreement between Sioux Valley Energy Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Volga Municipal Electric.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreement. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. David Henry, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve the proposed electric territory boundary agreement between Black Hills Power and Black Hills Electric Cooperative (BHEC).
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve the requested service rights exception and Service Territory Exception Agreement. Motion carried 3-0.
Ms. Debbie Opatz, Otter Tail Power Company (Otter Tail) requested that the Commission approve its proposed revisions to Otter Tail's rates for Small Power Production and Cogeneration for Qualifying Facilities effective March 1, 2014. Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant Otter Tail's request.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the proposed revisions to Otter Tail Power Company's rates for Small Power Production and Cogeneration for Qualifying Facilities effective March 1, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
Telecommunications
Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant IntelePeer, Inc.'s proposed tariff revisions effective February 18, 2014.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the proposed tariff revisions effective February 18, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant Broadvox-CLEC, LLC's (Broadvox) proposed tariff revisions effective February 20, 2014. Mr. Bill VanCamp, Olinger, Lovald, McCahren & Reimers, P.C., representing AT&T Corp. had no objection to Broadvox's request.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the proposed tariff revisions with a February 20, 2014, effective date. Motion carried 3-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 3:37 p.m. the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned.
/S/Joy Lashley
Joy Lashley
Administrative Assistant
PUC Email
February 18, 2014
