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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
December 9, 2014, at 9:30 A.M. CST
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
NOTE: If you wish to join this meeting by conference call, please contact the Commission at 605-773-3201 by 5:00 p.m. CST on Monday, December 8, 2014. Lines are limited and are given out on a first come, first served basis, subject to possible reassignment to accommodate persons who must appear in a proceeding. Ultimately, if you wish to participate in the Commission Meeting and a line is not available, you may have to appear in person.
NOTE: To listen to the Commission Meeting live please go to the PUC's website www.puc.sd.gov and click on the LIVE link on the home page. The Commission requests persons who will only be listening to proceedings and not actively appearing in a case listen via the web cast to free phone lines for those who have to appear. The Commission meetings are archived on the PUC's website under the Commission Actions tab, Click on “Commission Meeting Archives,” to access the recordings.
NOTE: Notice is further given to persons with disabilities that this Commission meeting is being held in a physically accessible place. If you have special needs, please notify the Commission and we will make all necessary arrangements.
AGENDA OF COMMISSION MEETING
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on November 25, 2014 (Staff: Joy Lashley)
Consumer Reports
1. Status Report on Consumer Utility Inquiries and Complaints Received by the Commission (Consumer Affairs: Deb Gregg)
Electric
On May 1, 2014, the Commission received a Petition by Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy (Xcel) requesting approval of the 2013 DSM Status Report and 2015 DSM program changes. Specifically, Xcel is requesting approval of the Company's 2013 DSM Tracker account, the incentive earned for 2013 program performance, the proposed 2015 DSM Cost Adjustment Factor of $0.000507 per kWh, and a number of proposed program changes for 2015. Xcel requests an effective date of January 1, 2015, for the DSM Cost Adjustment Factor.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the Company's 2013 DSM Status Report and tracker account, the performance incentive earned for 2013, the DSM program changes for 2015, and the DSM Cost Adjustment Factor of $0.000507 per kWh with a January 1, 2015, effective date?
On August 29, 2014, the Commission received a petition from Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy (Xcel) for approval of its 2015 Transmission Cost Recovery (TCR) Rider, TCR rate factor, and tracker account report. For 2015, Xcel proposes to continue recovery of the South Dakota jurisdictional portion of the revenue requirements related to 15 transmission projects located throughout its service territory. No new projects are being added at this time. Xcel proposes to recover $4.97 million associated with these projects for the 2015 calendar year. Included in the $4.97 million figure is the 2014 over-collection balance of $256,483. The total of the transmission investment costs and the tracker balance results in an average bill impact of $1.82 per month for a typical residential electric customer using 750 kWh per month. This is a decrease of $0.33 per month from the current TCR Rider recovery. The Company proposes to implement a rate of $0.002425 per kWh applied to all energy billed to each customer class beginning January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015. This represents a decrease of $0.000443 from the existing rate of $0.002868 per kWh. On December 2, 2014, the Commission received Revised Attachments 3 – Expenditures, 4 – Annual Tracker, 5 – 2013 Tracker, 6 – 2014 Tracker, 7 – 2015 Tracker, 8 – 2016 Tracker, 9 – Revenues, 12 – Inputs that Differ by Project, 15 – Proposed Tariff Page, and 16 – Proposed Customer Bill Notice.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the TCR rate factor and revised tariff sheet with an effective date of January 1, 2015?
On November 12, 2014, Commission Staff filed an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between Rosebud Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Winner Municipal Electric. This filing is made pursuant to current efforts of the PUC to verify electric territory mapping data for conversion to electronic format and use in a Geographic Information System (GIS) database. With the assistance of the above-referenced utilities, Commission Staff has confirmed the service territory boundary shared by these utilities and has prepared updated mapping information. Commission Staff asks for approval of the agreement to update official mapping data to properly reflect the service territory boundaries shared by the utilities in this docket.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreement?
On November 19, 2014, Commission Staff filed an Electric Service Territory Boundary Agreement between Charles Mix Electric Association, Inc. aka Charles Mix Electric Cooperative, Inc. and Pickstown Municipal Electric. This filing is made pursuant to current efforts of the PUC to verify electric territory mapping data for conversion to electronic format and use in a Geographic Information System (GIS) database. With the assistance of the above-referenced utilities, Commission Staff has confirmed the service territory boundary shared by these utilities and has prepared updated mapping information. Commission Staff asks for approval of the agreement to update official mapping data to properly reflect the service territory boundaries shared by the utilities in this docket.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreement?
Telecommunications
On June 30, 2014, South Dakota Network, LLC (SDN) filed an application for waiver of the requirement to file a switched access cost study as required by Commission rule ARSD 20:10:27:07. SDN requests the waiver of the cost study requirement because of the costs and resources involved in producing a study and indicated that a preliminary analysis indicates that a cost study would support higher rates. On September 10 and November 5, 2014, SDN responded to staff's data requests.
TODAY, shall the Commission grant South Dakota Network, LLC's request for a waiver, pursuant to ARSD 20:10:27:02, of the requirement to perform a switched access cost study?
On November 7, 2014, the Commission received a filing from Onvoy LLC fka Onvoy, Inc. dba Onvoy Voice Services (Onvoy) for approval of its South Dakota Tariff No. 2 (Access). This tariff issued by Onvoy, LLC replaces in its entirety South Dakota Tariff No. 1 issued by Onvoy, Inc. dba Onvoy Voice Services. The tariff is submitted to reflect the Company's conversion to a limited liability company and resulting change in Company name to Onvoy, LLC. Onvoy requests an effective date of November 11, 2014.
TODAY, shall the Commission approve Onvoy, LLC's South Dakota Tariff No. 2?
Hydrocarbon Pipeline
On September 15, 2014, the Commission received a filing from TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP (Keystone) seeking an order accepting certification of the permit issued in HP09-001. The Commission issued an Amended Final Decision and Order granting a permit to Keystone on June 29, 2010. Because it has been at least four years since the permit was issued, Keystone now seeks an order accepting certification, per SDCL 49-41B-27. An intervention deadline of October 15, 2014, was set. The Commission granted intervention to several parties. On October 30, 2014, Keystone filed a motion seeking to define the scope of discovery by limiting discovery to issues related to whether the project continues to meeting the conditions on which the permit was granted, as provided by SDCL § 49-41B-27. Many of the parties filed responses to Keystone's Motion. On November 4, 2014, the Commission issued a Prehearing Scheduling Conference Order setting a prehearing scheduling telephonic conference to be held by Commission Counsel on November 13, 2014, in an effort to reach a consensus of the parties on an appropriate procedural schedule for the docket. Commission Counsel held the prehearing teleconference as scheduled with most parties attending, but a consensus on an appropriate schedule could not be reached among the parties.
TODAY, shall the Commission grant Keystone's Motion to Define the Scope of Discovery Under SDCL § 49-41B-27? AND, shall the Commission issue a procedural schedule? OR, how shall the Commission proceed?
Items for Commission Discussion
Announcements
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Commissioners and staff will meet with representatives of NorthWestern Energy on Thursday, December 4, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. CST in Room 413 at the State Capitol, Pierre, S.D. The agenda is to discuss an update of NorthWestern Energy's operations, finance and customer service activities.
- Commissioners and staff will attend the South Dakota Telecommunications Association/Public Utilities Commission Biannual Forum December 15-16, 2014, at the Sheraton Sioux Falls Hotel and Convention Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.
- Commissioners and staff will meet with representatives of Xcel Energy on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, at 1:30 p.m. CST in the Fontelle Room, Sheraton Convention Center, Sioux Falls, S.D. The agenda includes a demonstration of energy efficient lighting products featured in Xcel Energy's demand side management program.
- The next regularly scheduled commission meeting will be Tuesday, December 23, 2014, at 9:30 a.m. CST in Room 413 at the State Capitol, Pierre, S.D.
- The PUC offices will be closed Thursday, December 25 and Friday, December 26, 2014, in observance of the Christmas holiday.
- Commission meetings are scheduled for January 6 and 21, 2015.
/s/Cindy Kemnitz
Cindy Kemnitz
Finance Manager
PUC Email
December 2, 2014
