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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
July 12, 2011, at 9:30 A.M. CDT
Rooms LCR 1 and 2, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Chairman Gary Hanson called the meeting to Order. Present were: Commission Counsel: John Smith and Rolayne Wiest; Staff Attorneys: Kara Semmler, Karen Cremer, and Ryan Soye; Staff Analysts: Dave Jacobson, Brittany Mehlhaff, Jon Thurber, Bobbi Bourk, Chris Daugaard, Ross Pedersen, and Brian Rounds; Consumer Affairs Supervisor: Deb Gregg and Staff: Demaris Axthelm and Lennis Axdahl.
Also present were: Rich Coit, South Dakota Telecommunications Association; Darla Pollman Rogers, Riter, Rogers, Wattier and Northrup, representing Midstate Telecom, Inc. and South Dakota Telecommunications Association; Brett Koenecke, May, Adam, Gerdes, and Thompson, representing Verizon Business Services; Bill Van Camp, Olinger, Lovald, McCahren, & Reimers, PC, representing AT&T; and Dan Nelson, Midcontinent Communications.
Joining the meeting by telephone was: Vice Chairman Chris Nelson; Talbot Wieczorek, Gunderson, Palmer, Nelson & Ashmore, LLC, representing Verizon Wireless; Meredith Moore, Cutler & Donahoe LLP, representing OrbitCom, Inc. and SSTelecom, Inc.; Matthew Slaven, Briggs and Morgan, P.A., representing Verizon Wireless; Jason Topp, Qwest Corporation; Mary Lohnes, Midcontinent Communications; James Wilcox and Kari Valley, Xcel Energy; Doug Eidahl, Vantage Point Solutions representing SSTELECOM, Inc.
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on May 17, 2011 (Staff: Lennis Axdahl)
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the minutes of the Commission Meeting held on May 17, 2011. Motion carried 2-0.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on May 31, 2011. (Staff: Lennis Axdahl)
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the minutes of the Commission Meeting held on May 31, 2011. Motion carried 2-0.
3. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on June 14, 2011 (Staff: Lennis Axdahl)
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the minutes of the Commission Meeting held on June 14, 2011. Motion carried 2-0.
4. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meeting Held on June 28, 2011 (Staff: Lennis Axdahl)
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the minutes of the Commission Meeting held on June 28, 2011. Motion carried 2-0.
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 102 contacts since the last report was prepared for the June 28, 2011 Commission meeting.
32 of the contacts involved telecommunication services, 19 of the contacts involved electrical services, 11 contacts involved natural gas service, 13 contacts involved cell phone service, 17 contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, and 10 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
1625 of the 1673 complaints received in 2011 have been resolved.
Electric
Karen Cremer, staff attorney, stated that Staff recommended the Commission suspend the operation of the schedule of the proposed rates by Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy for 180 days beyond June 30, 2011, and assess a filing fee of the statutory limit of $125,000. Mr. James Wilcox, Xcel Energy, had no objections.
Commissioner Nelson moved to suspend the imposition of the tariff for 180 days beyond June 30, 2011, and assess a filing fee for actual expenses not to exceed $125,000.
Motion carried 2-0.
Telecommunications
In 2008 OrbitCom, Inc. (OrbitCom) filed this docket requesting approval of revisions to its switched access tariff. Karen Cremer, staff attorney, stated that due to the rule making docket, this matter was put on hold. OrbitCom has now filed TC11-074 seeking approval of its revised switched access rate based on the new rules. Ms. Cremer stated that Staff recommended the Commission dismiss and close this docket.
Commissioner Nelson moved to dismiss and close this docket. Motion carried 2-0.
On April 25, 2011, ONLINE SAVINGS, INC. (ONLINE) filed an application for a certificate of authority to provide intrastate interexchange telecommunications services within South Dakota through the resale of similar services offered by other interexchange carriers in the state. ONLINE intends to operate exclusively as a reseller to provide interexchange services on a statewide basis.
TC11-016 was deferred until the next regularly scheduled Commission Meeting scheduled for July 26, 2011.
Mr. Dave Jacobson, staff analyst, explained that this is a request for an interexchange carrier Certificate of Authority (COA) providing service on a resold basis and recommended granting a COA with the restrictions that the applicant not offer prepaid services, or collect advance payments or deposits, and the granting of a waiver of ARSD 20:10:24:02(9).
Commissioner Nelson moved approve the Certificate of Authority for Residential Long Distance, Inc. Motion carried 2-0.
A lengthy discussion took place regarding the Request of RCC Minnesota, Inc. dba Verizon Wireless for Certification Regarding its Use of Federal Universal Service Support which can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2011, July 12, 2011, recording located at: http://puc.sd.gov/Archives/2011/default.aspx
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant Intervention to South Dakota Telecommunications Association. Motion carried 2-0.
A lengthy discussion took place regarding the Request of WWC Minnesota, Inc. dba Verizon Wireless for Certification Regarding its Use of Federal Universal Service Support which can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2011, July 12, 2011, recording located at: http://puc.sd.gov/Archives/2011/default.aspx
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant Intervention to South Dakota Telecommunications Association. Motion carried 2-0.
Ms. Kara Semmler, staff attorney, stated the agreement was properly filed, properly executed and does not appear to contain discriminatory provisions. No comments were filed and Ms. Semmler recommended approval of the agreement. Mr. Jason Topp, Qwest Corporation, had no objections and supported the agreement.
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant the Interconnection agreement between Qwest Corporation and MCC Telephony of the Midwest, LLC dba Mediacom. Motion carried 2-0.
Ms. Darla Pollman Rogers, Riter, Rogers, Wattier and Northrup, representing South Dakota Telecommunications Association, stated she had no objections to the intervener's petitions filed in this docket. Ms. Kara Semmler, staff attorney, stated that Staff supports the petitions to intervene.
Commissioner Nelson moved to grant Intervention to Sprint Communications Company LP, AT&T Communications of the Midwest, Inc., and MCI Communication Services Inc. d/b/a Verizon Business Services. Motion carried 2-0.
Mr. Doug Eidahl, Vantage Point Solutions representing SSTELECOM, Inc., provided a brief history of the filing. Mr. Brian Rounds, staff analyst, stated that Staff recommends the Commission approve the intrastate switched access tariff as filed, with an effective date of May 30, 2011.
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve SSTELECOM's intrastate switched access tariff rates and the proposed revised switched access tariff pages. Motion carried 2-0.
Ms. Darla Pollman Rogers, Riter, Rogers, Wattier and Northrup, representing Midstate Telecom, Inc., stated she had no objection to Midcontinent Communication's petition to intervene. However, she requested clarification from Verizon, Qwest, and AT&T regarding the petitions for intervention. Mr. Jason Topp, Qwest Corporation, Mr. Van Camp, Olinger, Lovald, McCahren, & Reimers, PC, representing AT&T, and Mr. Brett Koenecke, May, Adam, Gerdes, and Thompson, representing Verizon Business Services all agreed it was on oversight in the language in the petitions and offered clarification that their petitions were filed for the purpose of cost study only. Ms. Rogers had no objections after the clarification was made.
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant Interventions to MCI Communications Services (MCI) Inc. d\b\a Verizon Business Services, Midcontinent Communications (Midcontinent), Qwest Communications Company, LLC (Qwest), and AT&T Communications of the Midwest Inc. (AT&T) Motion carried 2-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 10:13 a.m., the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned. The next Commission meeting is scheduled for July 26, 2011.
/S/ Lennis Axdahl
Lennis Axdahl
Administrative Secretary
July 12, 2011
