Commission Minutes| previous page
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
September 29, 2015, at 9:30 A.M. CDT
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Chairman Chris Nelson called the meeting to order. Present were: Commissioners: Kristie Fiegen and Gary Hanson; Commission Counsel: Rolayne Wiest and Karen Cremer; Commission Advisor: Greg Rislov; Staff Attorneys: Kristen Edwards and Adam de Hueck; Staff Analysts: Brittany Mehlhaff, Darren Kearney, Eric Paulson, Patrick Steffensen, Joseph Rezac, and Lorena Reichert; and Staff: Katlyn Gustafson.
Joining the meeting by telephone were:
Jason Topp, Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC; Jeff Decker, Blue LaFave, and Travis Meyer, NorthWestern Corporation, dba NorthWestern Energy; and Brian Wagner, InTTec, Inc.
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meetings Held on September 1 and September 15, 2015 (Staff: Joy Lashley)
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the minutes of the Commission meetings held on September 1 and September 15, 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 148 contacts since the last report was prepared for the September 15, 2015 Commission meeting.
8 contacts involved telecommunication services, 19 contacts involved electrical services, 3 contacts were related to gas and electric service, 2 contacts were related to wireless service, 12 contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, 91 contacts were related to the Dakota Access Pipeline, 1 contact was related to One Call and 12 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
1,914 of the 1,916 complaints received in 2014 have been resolved.
1,543 of the 1,567 complaints received in 2015 have been resolved.
Electric
Mr. Jeff Decker, NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern), asked that the Commission approve NorthWestern's tariff revisions effective October 1, 2015. Ms. Brittany Mehlhaff, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant approval to NorthWestern's tariff revisions with less than 30 days' notice effective.
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve the tariff revisions with less than 30 days' notice. Motion carried 3-0.
Natural Gas
Mr. Jeff Decker, NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern), asked that the Commission grant approve NorthWestern's tariff revisions effective date of October 1, 2015. Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve NorthWestern's request.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the proposed tariff revisions effective October 1, 2015. Motion carried 3-0.
Telecommunications
A lengthy discussion took place regarding docket TC15-056. An audio of the discussion can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2015, September 29, 2015, recording located at:
http://puc.sd.gov/commission/media/2015/puc09292015am.mp3.
Commission deferred docket.
There being no further business, at the hour of 9:58 a.m. the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned.
/s/Joy Lashley .
Joy Lashley
Administrative Assistant
PUC Email
September 29, 2015
