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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
February 23, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. CST
Matthew Training Center, Foss Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF COMMISSION MEETING
Commission Chairman Chris Nelson called the meeting to order. Present were Commissioner Kristie Fiegen; Commission Advisor Greg Rislov; Staff Attorneys Jennie Fuerst and Amanda Reiss; Staff Analysts Darren Kearney, Brittany Mehlhaff, Joseph Rezac and Patrick Steffensen; and Administrative Staff Joy Irving and Janeth Merriman.
Joining the meeting by telephone were Commissioner Gary Hanson; Consumer Affairs Manager Deb Gregg; Amber Grenier, Otter Tail Power Company, Gretchen Kraemer, MidAmerican Energy Company, Jason Keil, Black Hills Service Company, LLC; Sarah Norcott, NorthWestern Energy; William Taylor, Taylor Law Firm, P.C. representing Laborers Local 620, the Great Plains Laborers District Council and the Laborers International Union of North America; Bradley Davison, Lisa Maurstad, Larry Oswald, and Kathy Baerlocher, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.
An audio recording of the meeting can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2026, February 23, 2026, recording located at: https://puc.sd.gov/commission/media/2026/puc02232026.mp3.
Consumer Reports
1. Status Report on Consumer Utility Inquiries (Consumer Affairs: Deb Gregg)
The Commission received a total of 31 contacts since the last report was prepared for the February 12, 2026, Commission meeting.
Three contacts were related to telecommunications services, 21 contacts were related to electric services, one contact was related to the Do Not Call Registry, and 6 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
163 of the 170 contacts received in 2026 have been resolved.
Electric
1. EL25-040 In the Matter of the Petition of Otter Tail Power Company for
Approval of the Transmission Cost Recovery Rider Rate (Staff Analyst: Joseph Rezac; Staff Attorney: Amanda Reiss)
Ms. Amber Grenier, Otter Tail Power Company, requested the Commission approve the company’s requested tariff revisions with an effective date of March 1, 2026. Mr. Joseph Rezac, staff analyst, recommended the Commission approve the company’s tariff revision request. Ms. Grenier, Otter Tail Power Co., responded to Commissioners’ questions.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the tariff revisions and TCR rate factors with an effective date of March 1, 2026. Motion carried 3-0.
2. EL26-002 In the Matter of MidAmerican Energy Company’s Application for Approval of Its 2025 Reconciliation and 2026 Transmission Cost Recovery Factors (Staff Analyst: Patrick Steffensen)
Mr. Patrick Steffensen, staff analyst, recommended the Commission assess a filing fee in the amount of up to $50,000 to account for actual expenses incurred in review of this filing commencing from the filing date. Ms. Gretchen Kraemer, MidAmerican Energy Company, did not object to the filing fee.
Commissioner Hanson moved to assess a filing fee in the amount of up to $50,000 to account for actual expenses incurred in review of this filing commencing from the filing date. Motion carried 3-0.
Gas and Electric
1. GE25-001 In the Matter of the Joint Application of NorthWestern Energy Public Service Corporation, Black Hills Corporation and NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc., for Approval of Merger (Staff Analysts: Patrick Steffensen, Brittany Mehlhaff, Eric Paulson; Staff Attorneys: Jennie Fuerst, Logan Schaefbauer)
Ms. Jennie Fuerst, staff attorney, recommended the Commission approve the joint motion for procedural schedule. Ms. Sarah Norcott, NorthWestern Energy, Mr. Jason Keil, Black Hills Energy, and William Taylor, Taylor Law Firm, P.C. representing Laborers Local 620, the Great Plains Laborers District Council and the Laborers International Union of North America had no objection to the joint motion for procedural schedule.
Commissioner Nelson moved to grant the motion for approval of the procedural schedule. Motion carried 3-0.
Natural Gas
1. NG26-001 In the Matter of the Filing by Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.,
a Subsidiary of MDU Resources Group Inc., for Approval of Its
Revised Conservation Tracking Adjustment (Staff Analyst: Darren Kearney)
Ms. Lisa Maurstad, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU), provided a summary of MDU’s Natural Gas Conservation Portfolio Plan results for 2025 and the company’s request for an updated Conservation Tracking Adjustment (CTA) rate. Further, Ms. Maurstad noted that during discovery the company offered to reduce its budget to $109,650 for 2026 to match historic participation levels and that if the lower budget is adopted by the Commission, then the originally requested CTA rate of $0.012 per dekatherm (dk) would be revised to $0.007 per dk. Mr. Darren Kearney, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve the DSM Performance of Incentive of $7,205, set the 2026 budget at $109,650 for the Natural Gas Conservation Portfolio Plan, approve a CTA rate of $0.007 per dk with an effective date of March 1, 2026, and approve the associated tariff sheet subject to MDU filing an updated tariff sheet to account for the CTA rate approved by the Commission. Kathy Baerlocher, MDU, responded to Commissioners’ questions.
Commissioner Nelson moved to grant Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.’s request for approval of a revised Conservation Tracking Adjustment of $0.007 per dk and the associated Conservation Program Tracking Mechanism Rate 90 tariff sheet, with an effective date of March 1, 2026, including all the recommendations from staff. Motion carried 3-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 1:49 p.m., the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned.
/s/ Janeth A. Merriman .
Janeth A. Merriman
Administrative Specialist
puc@state.sd.us
February 23, 2026
