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South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Meeting
June 10, 2014, at 9:30 A.M. CDT
Room 414, Capitol Building
Pierre, South Dakota
MINUTES OF THE COMMISSION MEETING
Commissioner Gary Hanson called the meeting to order. Present were: Commissioners: Chris Nelson and Kristie Fiegen; Commission Counsel: John Smith and Rolayne Wiest; Commission Advisor: Greg Rislov; Staff Attorneys: Karen Cremer and Kristen Edwards; Staff Analysts: Eric Paulson, Robin Meyerink, Brian Rounds, Brittany Mehlhaff, David Henry, and Patrick Steffensen; Consumer Affairs Supervisor: Deb Gregg; and Staff: Katlyn Gustafson
Also present were:
Brett Koenecke, May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson, representing South Dakota Electric Utility Companies; Darla Rogers, Riter, Rogers, Wattier & Northrup, LLP, representing South Dakota Rural Electric Association and Fiber Ring Revenue-Pooling Association; Rich Coit, South Dakota Telecommunications Association; and Jeff Decker, NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy
Joining the meeting by telephone were:
Troy Kwasniewski, H-D Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Ron Gogolin, Patsy Pahut, Deb Young, Bill Thomas, and DSM Staff, NorthWestern Corporation dba NorthWestern Energy; Robert Lorge, Lorge and Lorge Law Firm, representing Prelude, L.L.C.; Jason Topp and Renee Albersheim, Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC; Rhonda Page, Butte Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Doug Eidahl, Kristi Cavanaugh and Larry Thompson, Vantage Point Solutions, representing Fiber Ring Revenue-Pooling Association; Michele Nielson, Sioux Valley Energy; Miles Schumacher, Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, P.C., representing Basin Electric Power Cooperative; and Andrew Isar, Millar Isar Inc., representing Granite Telecommunications, LLC.
(NOTE: For the purpose of continuity, these minutes are not necessarily in chronological order.)
Administration
1. Approval of the Minutes of the Commission Meetings Held on May 13, and 27, 2014 (Staff: Joy Lashley)
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the minutes of the Commission meetings held on May 13, and May 27, 2014. 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 67 contacts since the last report was prepared for the May 27, 2014 Commission meeting.
9 of the contacts involved telecommunication services, 24 of the contacts involved electrical services, 6 of the contacts involved natural gas service, 1 contact involved cell phone service, 14 contacts were related to the Do Not Call Registry, 3 contacts were related to the Keystone XL project and 10 contacts were related to issues not regulated by the PUC.
837 of the 854 complaints received in 2014 have been resolved.
Electric
Mr. David Henry, staff analyst, requested that the Commission defer EL14-035 until a later Commission meeting.
Commissioner Nelson moved to defer EL14-035. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. David Henry, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreements in dockets EL14-031, EL14-033, EL14-043, EL14-044, and EL14-045.
In Dockets EL14-031, EL14-033, EL14-043, EL14-044, and EL14-045, Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the proposed electric service territory boundary agreements. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Brett Koenecke, May, Adam, Gerdes & Thompson, representing South Dakota Electric Utility Companies, asked that the Commission grant intervention. Mr. Robert Lorge, Prelude, L.L.C., had no objections. Ms. Kristen Edwards, staff attorney, recommended that the Commission grant intervention to the South Dakota Electric Utility Companies.
Commissioner Nelson moved to grant intervention to the South Dakota Electric Utility Companies. Motion carried 3-0.
Gas & Electric
A lengthy discussion took place regarding docket GE12-001. An audio of the discussion can be found on the PUC website under Commission Actions, Commission Meeting Archives, 2014, June 10, 2014, recording located at: http://puc.sd.gov/commission/media/2014/puc06102014.mp3
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve the proposed two-year Demand Side Management Plan, including the associated tariff revisions, with an effective date of July 1, 2014. Motion carried 2-1. Commissioner Nelson dissented.
Commissioner Nelson moved to amend the proposal in 3 ways: 1) requiring the energy audits to include a $100.00 copayment; 2) raising the minimum TRC value from .9 to 1.0; and 3) reducing the 30% budget overage flexibility down to 10%. Motion failed 1-2. Commissioners Hanson and Fiegen dissented.
Telecommunications
Mr. Jason Topp, Qwest Corporation dba CenturyLink QC (CenturyLink), asked that the Commission approve its list of non-impaired wire centers. Ms. Karen Cremer, staff attorney, recommended that the Commission approve CenturyLink's request.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve CenturyLink's list of non-impaired wire centers. Motion carried 3-0.
Ms. Darla Rogers, Riter, Rogers, Wattier & Northrup, LLP, representing Fiber Ring Revenue-Pooling Association (FRRPA), asked that the Commission approve revisions to its Intracompany Transport Use, Public Internet Transport Use exhibits and add a Redundant Capacity Use exhibit to FRRPA's pooling documents. Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission grant approval with the condition that such approval does not preclude the Commission from making any adjustments in the individual switched access cost studies related to FRRPA's revenues, expenses, or plant in other dockets.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve Fiber Ring Revenue-Pooling Association's Amended Revenue Pooling Documents with Staff's condition. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve AT&T Corp.'s revisions to its Access Service Tariff effective June 10, 2014.
Commissioner Hanson moved to approve AT&T Corp.'s revisions to its Access Service Tariff and that the word “factors” be added to the end of tariff page 23. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve Teleport Communications America, LLC's revisions to its Access Service Tariff effective June 10, 2014.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve Teleport Communications America, LLC's Revisions to its Access Service Tariff effective June 10, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Eric Paulson, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve Teleport Communications America, LLC's revisions to its access service tariff.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve Teleport Communications America, LLC's Revisions to its Access Service Tariff effective June 10, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
Ms. Robin Meyerink, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve Metropolitan Telecommunications of South Dakota, Inc. dba MetTel's revisions to its Competitive Access Provider Services Tariff Number 3 effective July 1, 2014.
Commissioner Fiegen moved to approve the proposed tariff revisions effective July 1, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
Mr. Andrew Isar, Millar Isar Inc., representing Granite Telecommunications, LLC (Granite), asked that the Commission approve Granite's prosed tariff revisions. Ms. Robin Meyerink, staff analyst, recommended that the Commission approve Granite's revisions to its switched exchange access tariff, South Dakota P.S.C. Tariff No. 3 effective July 1, 2014.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the proposed tariff revisions effective July 1, 2014. Motion carried 3-0.
There being no further business, at the hour of 10:50 a.m. the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission meeting adjourned.
/S/Joy Lashley
Joy Lashley
Administrative Assistant
PUC Email
June 10, 2014
