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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
February 2, 2015, at 1:30 P.M. CST
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Chairman Chris Nelson called the meeting to order. Present were: Commission Counsel: John Smith and Rolayne Wiest; Staff Attorneys: Karen Cremer and Kristen Edwards; Staff Analysts: Patrick Steffensen, Joseph Rezac, and Eric Paulson; Consumer Affairs Supervisor: Deb Gregg; and Staff: Katlyn Gustafson.
Also present were:
Kara Semmler, May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson, representing Blue Jay Wireless, LLC, and Rich Coit, South Dakota Telecommunications Association.
Joining the meeting by telephone were:
Commissioners: Kristie Fiegen and Gary Hanson; Jeff Decker, NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy; and Tom Kersting, SD Soybean Processors, LLC.
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission meeting held on January 20, 2015. (Staff: Joy Lashley)
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the minutes of the Commission meeting held on January 20, 2015. 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 149 contacts since the last report was prepared for the January 20, 2015 Commission meeting.
7 of the contacts involved telecommunication services, 92 of the contacts involved electrical services, 3 of the contacts involved natural gas service, 9 contacts involved cell phone service, 14 contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, 2 contacts were related to Keystone XL pipeline, 12 contacts were related to the Dakota Access Pipeline, and 10 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
1,912 of the 1,916 complaints received in 2014 have been resolved.
225 of the 241 complaints received in 2015 have been resolved.
Electric
Mr. Jeff Decker, NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern), asked for Commission approval of a contract with deviations with SD Soybean Processors, LLC. Mr. Decker requested an effective date of February 1, 2015. Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant NorthWestern's request effective February 1, 2015.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the contract with deviations. Motion carried 3-0.
Telecommunications
Ms. Kara Semmler, May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson, representing Blue Jay Wireless, LLC (Blue Jay), asked for Commission approval of a Motion to Bifurcate. Mr. Rich Coit, South Dakota Telecommunications (SDTA), stated SDTA had no objection. Kristen Edwards, staff attorney, recommended that the Commission grant approval to Blue Jay's request.
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant Blue Jay's Motion to Bifurcate. Motion carried 3-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 1:48 p.m. the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned.
/s/Joy Lashley .
Joy Lashley
Administrative Assistant
PUC Email
February 2, 2015
