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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
November 7, 2024, at 1:30 P.M. CST
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETING
Commission Vice Chairman Gary Hanson called the meeting to order. Present were Commissioner Chris Nelson; Commission Attorney Kristen Edwards; Commission Advisor Greg Rislov; Staff Attorneys Jennie Fuerst, Amanda Reiss and Logan Schaefbauer; Staff Analysts Brittany Mehlhaff and Eric Paulson; Consumer Affairs Manager Deb Gregg; and Deputy Executive Director Leah Mohr.
Also present were Staff Analyst Joseph Rezac; and Kara Semmler, South Dakota Telecommunications Association.
Joining the meeting by telephone was Chairperson Kristie Fiegen; Lance Steinhart, Lance J.M. Steinhart, P.C. representing IM Telecom, LLC dba Infiniti Mobile; Debra Mercer, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP representing TruConnect Communications, Inc.; Danielle Perry and Alex Rasor, TruConnect Communications, Inc.; and Jeffrey Decker, NorthWestern Energy Public Service Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy.
An audio recording of the meeting can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2024, November 7, 2024, recording located at: https://puc.sd.gov/commission/media/2024/puc11072024.mp3.
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on October 22, 2024 (Staff: Janeth Merriman)
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the Minutes of the Commission Meeting held on October 22, 2024. Motion carried 3-0.
Consumer Reports
1. Status Report on Consumer Utility Inquiries (Consumer Affairs: Deb Gregg)
The Commission received a total of 69 contacts since the last report was prepared for the October 22, 2024, Commission meeting.
Six contacts were related to telecommunications services, 21 contacts were related to electric services, four contacts were related to natural gas services, four contacts were related to wireless services, three contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, two contacts were related to carbon pipelines, 16 contacts were related to wind energy and 13 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
1,118 of the 1,135 contacts received in 2024 have been resolved.
Telecommunications
1. TC24-003 In the Matter of the Filing of IM Telecom, LLC dba Infiniti Mobile’s Petition for Designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier in the State of South Dakota for the Limited Purpose of Providing Lifeline Service to Qualifying Customers (Staff Analyst: Brittany Mehlhaff; Staff Attorney: Logan Schaefbauer)
Mr. Lance Steinhart, Lance J.M. Steinhart, P.C., representing IM Telecom, LLC dba Infiniti Mobile, requested the Commission defer consideration of this matter to a later Commission meeting. Mr. Logan Schaefbauer, staff attorney, did not object to the request. Ms. Kara Semmler, representing South Dakota Telecommunications Association, agreed to the deferral and suggested the matter be deferred to the December 3, 2023 Commission meeting, to which all parties verbally agreed.
Commissioner Nelson moved to defer this matter to the December 3, 2024 Commission meeting. Motion carried 3-0.
2. TC24-004 In the Matter of the Filing of TruConnect Communications, Inc.’s Petition for Approval of a Designation as an Eligible Telecommunications Carrier in the State of South Dakota for the Limited Purpose of Providing Lifeline Service to Qualifying Customers (Staff Analyst: Brittany Mehlhaff; Staff Attorney: Logan Schaefbauer)
A lengthy discussion took place for docket TC24-004. An audio recording can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2024, November 7, 2024, recording located at: https://puc.sd.gov/commission/media/2024/puc1107024.mp3.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the Joint Stipulation. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner Nelson moved to grant the petition for Designation as an Eligible Telecommunication Carrier for the purposes of receiving federal lifeline universal service support in the entirety of the zip code areas indicated on TruConnect’s Nov. 6th filing, and be conditioned on incorporating conditions 1, 3, and 5 from Ms. Semmler’s September 19th filing. Motion carried 3-0.
3. TC24-040 In the Matter of the Application of ImOn Communications, LLC for a Certificate of Authority to Provide Local Exchange and Interexchange Long Distance Services in the State of South Dakota (Staff Analyst: Eric Paulson; Staff Attorney: Logan Schaefbauer)
Ms. Kara Semmler, South Dakota Telecommunications Association (SDTA), asked the Commission to grant SDTA’s petition to intervene. ImOn Communications, LLC did not appear. Mr. Logan Schaefbauer, staff attorney, did not object to the request.
Commissioner Fiegen moved the Commission grant SDTA’s petition to intervene. Motion carried 3-0.
Natural Gas
1. NG24-011 In the Matter of the Filing by NorthWestern Energy Public Service Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy for Approval of a Contract with Deviations with Clark RNG, LLC (Staff Analyst: Brittany Mehlhaff; Staff Attorneys: Amanda Reiss, Jennie Fuerst)
Mr. Jeff Decker, NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy, requested the Commission approve the contract with deviations with Clark RNG, LLC and the associated tariff revisions with an effective date of December 1, 2024. Ms. Brittany Mehlhaff, staff analyst, recommended the Commission approve the company’s request.
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve NorthWestern Energy’s contract with deviations with Clark RNG, LLC and the associated tariff revisions with an effective date of December 1, 2024. Motion carried 3-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 2:24 p.m., the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned.
/s/ Janeth A. Merriman .
Janeth A. Merriman
Administrative Specialist
puc@state.sd.us
November 7, 2024
