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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
October 13, 2015, at 1:30 P.M. CDT
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Chairman Chris Nelson called the meeting to order. Present were: Commissioner: Kristie Fiegen; 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 Consumer Affairs Manager: Deb Gregg; Staff: Katlyn Gustafson.
Joining the meeting by telephone were:
Commissioner: Gary Hanson; Eric Pauli and Deb Paulson, Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy; Ron Gogolin, NorthWestern Corporation, dba NorthWestern Energy; Pete Beithon and Kirk Phinney, Otter Tail Power Company; Ivan Vancas, Black Hills Power, Inc.; Cameron Sabin, Stoel Rives LLP, Black Hills Corporation; Brian Wagner, InTTec, Inc.; Jason Topp, Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC; Brenda Haviland and Mike Garrey, Town of Humboldt Gas Board; Adam Lund, Ritchy Griepp and Heather VanZee, Town of Humboldt.
(NOTE: For the purpose of continuity, these minutes are not necessarily in chronological order.)
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 70 contacts since the last report was prepared for the September 28, 2015 Commission meeting.
11 contacts involved telecommunication services, 16 contacts involved electrical services, 1 contact was related to natural gas service, 2 contacts were related to wireless service, 17 contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, 10 contacts were related to the Dakota Access Pipeline and 13 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
1,914 of the 1,916 complaints received in 2014 have been resolved.
1,607 of the 1,637 complaints received in 2015 have been resolved.
Electric
Mr. Ronald Gogolin, NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern), asked that the Commission approve NorthWestern’s service rights exception between NorthWestern and Central Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Central Electric). Mr. Gogolin stated Central Electric would provide a single phase electrical service to a new home located within the NorthWestern service territory.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the requested service rights exception between NorthWestern and Central Electric. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Pete Beithon, Otter Tail Power Company (Otter Tail), asked that the Commission approve its Environmental Cost Recovery Rider Charge and associated tariff revisions with an effective date of November 1, 2015. Ms. Brittany Mehlhaff, staff analyst, recommended approval of Otter Tail’s request.
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve Otter Tail Power Company’s Environmental Cost Recovery Rider Charge and associated tariff revisions with an effective date of November 1, 2015. Motion carried 3-0.
Ms. Brittany Mehlhaff, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission give the Executive Director authority to enter into necessary consulting contracts. Mr. Ivan Vancas, Black Hills Power, Inc. (BHP), stated BHP had no objections.
Commissioner Nelson moved to give the Executive Director authority to enter into necessary consulting contracts.Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Adam de Hueck, staff attorney, recommended that the Commission assess Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy, a filing fee in the amount of up to $250,000 to account for actual expenses incurred in review of this filing commencing from the filing date. Ms. Deb Paulson, Xcel Energy, stated Xcel Energy didn’t have any objections.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to assess a filing fee in the amount of up to $250,000 to account for actual expenses incurred in review of this filing commencing from the filing date. Motion carried 3-0.
Pipeline Safety
A lengthy discussion took place regarding docket PS15-001. An audio of the discussion can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2015, October 13, 2015, recording located at: http://puc.sd.gov/commission/media/2015/puc10132015.mp3.
Commissioner Fiegen recommended that the Commission defer the docket for two weeks in order for staff and the Humboldt Gas Board to develop a comprehensive plan.
Telecommunications
This item was deferred from the September 29, 2015, Commission meeting.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the resale agreement. Commissioner Nelson also requested that Commission staff continue to work at the issue regarding a Certificate of Authority and get more information from InTTec about how it intends to operate. Motion carried 3-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 2:13 p.m. the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned.
/s/Joy Lashley .
Joy Lashley
Administrative Assistant
PUC Email
October 13, 2015
