March 28, 2022 – Before certain large projects may be built in South Dakota, the project owner must obtain a siting permit from the Public Utilities Commission. Those projects are electricity production facilities 100 MW or larger such as wind farms, AC/DC conversion facilities, electric transmission lines larger than 115 kilovolts, and certain pipelines. One […]
March 1, 2022 – Some South Dakota dairy farms are availing themselves of a new opportunity to add income for their operations while improving their environmental footprint through the production of renewable natural gas. These dairies are installing manure digesters that help turn manure into methane which is captured and sold into the natural gas […]
Chris Nelson announced today that he will be a candidate for re-election to the Public Utilities Commission in 2022. Chris made the announcement to a crowd gathered for the Hughes County Lincoln Day Dinner in Pierre. Nelson said, “The complexities of the utility business demand commissioners who are dedicated to advocating for consumers, are able […]
January 31, 2022 – One of the important missions of the Public Utilities Commission is protecting South Dakota farmers when their grain is marketed. The legislature has established a system of licensure and inspection for grain buyers to ensure that those buyers have the financial ability to pay for the grain which they purchase. As […]
January 13, 2022 By request I provided an explanation of the PUC facility siting permit process to the South Dakota Senate Commerce and Energy Committee today. I’ll share a summary of that important process here. Per South Dakota law certain facility projects must obtain a siting permit prior to construction from the Public Utilities Commission. […]
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 2nd Most Renewable Energy in the U.S.” Obviously something is amiss in these contradictory statements. Which one is correct? I’ll give you a hint, choose […]
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, rapidly changing and affecting how we work, how we learn, how we play, and how we communicate. As your Public Utilities Commissioner, I understand that […]
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 crop and imperative when thinking and planning how that land is preserved for the next generation. My father demonstrated that for me. He taught me […]
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 audience indicating I’m pretty close to accurate with that number. That doesn’t mean folks don’t pay attention to state government but rather that the role […]
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 Utilities Commission (PUC) in recent years is mainly the result of an increase in capital spending by utility companies trying to reduce the environmental impact […]
