November 30, 2021 – Several weeks ago I saw two headlines next to each other. One said “South Dakota Way Behind on Clean Energy” and the other “South Dakota Produces […]
In the City
The World Wide Web turns 25 this year. Think about how different the world is now than it was 25 years ago. Massive technological innovations are now a daily occurrence, […]
On the Farm
Welcome to my farm. I grew up here. I learned the value of hard work here. I saw first-hand how taking care of the land is important for next year’s […]
The Role of a PUC Commissioner
I often say when I speak to groups that 99 out of 100 South Dakotans probably can’t explain what the Public Utilities Commission does. That elicits a chuckle from the […]
An interview with PUC Chairman Chris Nelson
The following article was published on-line by Daily Energy Insider on August 22, 2016 by Tracy Rozens: The rising number of rate cases being submitted to the South Dakota Public […]
Rural Broadband Opens Opportunities
One of my priorities as a public utilities commissioner has been to close the broadband gap in South Dakota. It’s commonly called the rural/rural divide. Citizens in portions of our […]
Serving South Dakota Through National Leadership
As a public utilities commissioner I am a member of a national association of my counterparts from around the country called the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners or NARUC. […]
Grain Elevators
One doesn’t have to travel very far in rural South Dakota during the month of July to find the countryside abuzz with combines, grain carts, and trucks bringing in the […]
Rural Call Completion
Just months after I became a PUC commissioner while attending an event in Custer, a man approached me with a problem. He explained that his business relied primarily on phone […]
Stray Voltage
The term “stray voltage” has a variety of definitions, some loosely fitting and others technical in nature. Under state law stray voltage is voltage or current between two cow contact […]