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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
April 1, 2014, at 1:00 P.M. CDT
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Chairman Gary Hanson called the meeting to order. Present were: Commissioner: Kristie Fiegen; Commission Counsel: John Smith and Rolayne Wiest; Commission Advisor: Greg Rislov; Staff Attorneys: Karen Cremer and Kristen Edwards; Staff Analysts: Patrick Steffensen, Robin Meyerink, Darren Kearney, and Eric Paulson; and Staff: Katlyn Gustafson
Also present were:
Rich Coit, South Dakota Telecommunications Association; and Darla Rogers, Riter, Rogers, Wattier & Northrup, LLP, representing South Dakota Telecommunications Association
Joining the meeting by telephone were:
Vice Chairman: Chris Nelson; Meredith Moore, Cutler & Donahoe, LLP, representing Midstate Communications, Inc.; and Wes Wright, Intrado Communications Inc.
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meetings held on March 4 and March 18, 2014 (Staff: Joy Lashley)
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the minutes of the Commission meetings held on March 4 and March 18, 2014. Motion carried 2-0.
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 77 contacts since the last report was prepared for the March 18, 2014 Commission meeting.
10 of the contacts involved telecommunication services, 27 of the contacts involved electrical services, 6 of the contacts involved natural gas service, 5 contacts involved cell phone service, 13 contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, 1 contact was related to the Keystone XL Pipeline and 15 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
490 of the 519 complaints received in 2014 have been resolved.
Telecommunications
Mr. Rich Coit, South Dakota Telecommunications Association (SDTA), asked that the Commission approve its petition to intervene. Mr. Wes Wright, Intrado Communications Inc. (Intrado), stated Intrado had no objections. Ms. Karen Cremer, staff attorney, recommended that the Commission to SDTA's petition to intervene.
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant intervention to SDTA. Motion carried 3-0.
Ms. Meredith Moore, Cutler & Donahoe, LLP, representing Midstate Communications, Inc. (Midstate) asked that the Commission grant its Petition for Approval of Amendment to the Access Tariffs of Midstate Telecom, Inc. (Midstate Telecom). Ms. Moore stated that Midstate proposed to substitute its name for Midstate Telecom's wherever Midstate Telecom's name appears in the current tariff. Mr. Darren Kearney, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve Midstate's request.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to grant Midstate Communications Inc.'s Petition for Approval of an Amendment to the Tariff No. 2 effective January 1, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 1:17 p.m. the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned.
/S/Joy Lashley
Joy Lashley
Administrative Assistant
PUC Email
April 1, 2014
