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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
August 14, 2012, at 9:30 A.M. CDT
Room 413, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Chairman Chris Nelson called the meeting to Order. Present were: Commissioners: Kristie Fiegen and Gary Hanson; Commission Counsel: John Smith and Rolayne Wiest; Commission Advisor: Greg Rislov; Staff Attorneys: Karen Cremer, Kara Semmler, and Ryan Soye; Staff Analysts: Chris Daugaard, Brian Rounds, Matthew Tysdal, Nathan Solem, Josh Williams, Brittany Mehlhaff, and Patrick Steffensen; Consumer Affairs Supervisor: Deb Gregg; and Staff: Tina Douglas and Sherry Dickerson
Also present were:
Thomas Burns, Codington-Clark Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Steve Lehner and Todd Chambers, Watertown Municipal Utilities; Dori Quam, Ron Gogolin, and Heather Grahame, NorthWestern Energy; Jim Wilcox, Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy; Rod Bowar, Kennebec Telephone Company, Inc.; Rich Coit, South Dakota Telecommunications Association; and Mary Lohnes, Midcontinent Communications
Joining the meeting by telephone were:
Anne Heuer, Lisa Kallberg, and Paul Lehman, Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy; Tamie Aberle, Montana-Dakota Utilities; Kim Stumpp, Consortia Consulting, representing Kennebec Telephone Company, Inc.; Scott Anderson, Midcontinent Communications; Paul Bergman, Jefferson Telephone Company; Jim Cremer, Bantz, Gosch, & Cremer, LLC., representing James Valley Wireless, LLC, and James Valley Cooperative Telephone Company; Don Price, Verizon Access Transmission Services; and Carey Roesel, Technologies Management, Inc. representing Sage Telecom, Inc. and Birch Communications
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meetings Held on July 17, 2012. (Staff: Joy Irving)
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve the minutes of July 17, 2012. Motion carried 3-0.
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 51 contacts since the last report was prepared for the July 31, 2012 Commission meeting.
10 of the contacts involved telecommunication services, 12 of the contacts involved electrical services, 6 contacts involved natural gas service, 7 contacts involved cell phone service, 7 contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, 1 contact was related to One Call, 1 contact was related to Wind Energy and 7 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
1,164 of the 1,193 complaints received in 2012 have been resolved.
Electric
Mr. Jim Wilcox, Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy, requested that the Commission approve its 2011-2012 transmission cost recovery (TCR) project eligibility and rate adjustment. Ms. Brittany Mehlhaff, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant the joint motion for approval of settlement stipulation and adopt the attached stipulation without modification.
Commissioner Hanson moved to grant the Joint Motion for Approval of the Settlement Stipulation and approve the rates, terms and conditions stipulated therein. Motion carried 3-0.
A lengthy discussion took place regarding Docket EL12-040. The transcript can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions: Commission Minutes: 2012 - http://puc.sd.gov/commission/minutes/2012/transcriptel12-040081312.pdf. An audio of the discussion can be found on the PUC Web site under Commission Actions; Commission Meeting Archives; 2012; August 14, 2012, for Docket EL12-040.
Commissioner Nelson moved to adopt staff's recommendation to establish the territory line as the southern boundary of government lots 1 and 2 and that Codington-Clark be granted a territory exception to continue serving the particular locations it is are serving today. Motion carried 3-0.
Ms. Tamie Aberle, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU), requested that the Commission approve its tariff revisions. Mr. Matthew Tysdal, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant approval.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the proposed tariff revisions. Motion carried 3-0.
Pipeline Safety
Mr. Josh Williams, staff analyst, Pipeline Safety Staff, requested that the Commission assess a $750.00 penalty against Northern States Power Company dba Xcel Energy due to noncompliance regarding results of a Drug and Alcohol Plan inspection conducted on December 12-14 and 21, 2011, and March 2 and 5-7, 2012. Mr. Williams stated that the inspection revealed a violation of 49 CFR ยง199.105(c). Specifically, Xcel Energy excluded DOT covered gas only employees from random annual drug testing.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to adopt Staff's recommendation and assess a $750.00 penalty against Xcel. Motion carried 3-0.
Telecommunications
1. In the Matter of the Request for Certification Regarding the Use of Federal Universal Service Support in Dockets TC12-041, TC12-062, TC12-077, TC12-081 and TC12-082
Mr. Chris Daugaard, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission provide certification to the FCC and USAC.
Mr. Chris Daugaard, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission provide certification to the FCC and USAC.
Mr. Patrick Steffensen, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission provide certification to the FCC and USAC.
Mr. Patrick Steffensen, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission provide certification to the FCC and USAC.
Mr. Patrick Steffensen, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission provide certification to the FCC and USAC.
Commissioner Hanson moved to provide certification to the Federal Communications Commission and to the Universal Service Administration Company regarding the plan for the use of Federal Universal Services Support as proposed in each of the above dockets. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Don Price, Verizon Access Transmission Services (Verizon Access), requested approval of its Tariff No. 2. Mr. Price stated that the revised tariff pages in this filing reflect Verizon Access' implementation of the intercarrier compensation regime for certain VoIP-PSTN traffic, as modified by the FCC's Second Reconsideration Order ("Reconsideration Order"), released on April 25, 2012. Mr. Chris Daugaard, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant approval of Verizon Access' Tariff No. 2 with an effective date of July 13, 2012.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the requested tariff changes with an effective date of July 13, 2012. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Carey Roesel, Technologies Management, Inc. representing Sage Telecom, Inc. (Sage), asked the Commission for approval of revision to its Access Service Tariff No. 3. Mr. Brian Rounds, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant approval with an effective date for this revision of July 1, 2012.
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve the requested tariff changes including the waiver. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Carey Roesel, Technologies Management, Inc. representing Ionex Communications North, Inc. dba Birch Communications (Birch Communications), asked the Commission for approval of its revision to its tariff No. 6. Mr. Patrick Steffensen, staff analyst, stated staff reviewed the Birch Communications tariff revisions for compliance with the transitional terminating switched access rate provisions of the recent FCC order. Mr. Steffensen explained that Birch Communications uses a composite rate for both its interstate and intrastate switched access rates and took an average of the two in calculating their transitional terminating rate. He said that on July 25th, Birch requested waivers from the specific provisions in rules ARSD 20:10:29:10, 20:10:29:12, and 20:10:29:16 that state "the per minute charge is equal for both originating and terminating traffic." Mr. Steffensen recommended that approval of the waivers from those specific rule provisions and approval of the tariff revisions with a July 3, 2012 effective date.
Commissioner Nelson moved to grant the waivers and approve the requested tariff changes. Motion carried 3-0.
Ms. Karen Cremer, staff attorney, recommended approval of the ICC VoIP Amendment to the Interconnection Agreement between Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC and XO Communications Services, LLC.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the amendment to the interconnection agreement. Motion carried 3-0.
Ms. Karen Cremer, staff attorney, recommended approval of the ICC VoIP Amendment to the Interconnection Agreement between Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC and Bandwidth.com CLEC, LLC.
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve the amendment to the interconnection agreement. Motion carried 3-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 10:55 a.m. the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned./S/Joy Irving
Joy Irving
Administrative Assistant
PUC Email
August 14, 2012
