South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

PUC

Open Government Open Meetings PUC Sioux Falls

Utility intervenor has message about elected officials

l3wis 4Comments

This isn’t coming from your average Joe but a seasoned bureaucrat;

Wegman then headed back to the PUC as an analyst in the early 2000s. He has since retired but still does consulting work in renewable energy. He said his time in Pierre taught him an important lesson about elected officials.

“The only thing that matters to an elected official is that the public marks the box on the ballot,” Wegman said. “The unfortunate part is that no one follows up with those officials’ performance.”

He also touches on who butters the bread;

Wegman said the public should be aware that utility companies work hard to build relationships with elected regulators – for example, by sponsoring the Governor’s Hunt to get themselves invited, or hosting a dinner for the commission and lawmakers during the legislative session.

“Rule number one in business is that in order to have a relationship with the other party, you have to have a personal relationship,” Wegman said. “And that’s what those are. It is the company building a personal relationship with a commissioner. Whether they want to admit it or not, that’s what is happening.” 

In this political climate it is either get involved or suffer the consequences because as we have seen locally with the 6th Street Bunker Bridge, the proposed mural and Sustainability Plan the ones in charge only listen to one audience, and it ain’t us.

PUC South Dakotans

Lazy South Dakota PUC allowing a 6 month increase of electricity rates

l3wis 3Comments

During the run-up to the mid-terms, PUC incumbent Chris Nelson threw around wild claims that the PUC couldn’t limit imminent domain, BUT they can limit electric rates, if only they decided to research it and make a decision;

Xcel Energy will increase its electricity rates by 17.9 percent, starting Jan. 1. That’s a jump of $19.60 per month on an average residential customer’s bill. The proposed changes affect 97,500 customers. 

The PUC had six months to investigate and make a decision about the rate request before the company implemented it, but the three-member commission will not declare its decision in that timeframe.

That window closes at the end of December. Commission Chairman Chris Nelson said the PUC rarely completes its investigations in six months. 

“Once that rate increase was filed with us, our staff immediately began working through the evaluation process,” Nelson said. “That is a very lengthy and complex process.”

SIX MONTHS! C’mon! It is probably a difficult decision to make and takes awhile to research, but while you are dragging your feet thousands of customers are paying a higher rate.

The commission will subsequently have another six months to make a retroactive decision, but meanwhile, the requested rates will go into effect as an interim rate hike.

Seems convenient, doesn’t it?

PUC

Someone should tell South Dakota PUC Chair Fascist Hanson about all of the energy company’s ‘socialism’

l3wis 7Comments

Trust me, I saw Gary’s speech apparently sponsored by the SD Fascist Republican Party and thought, “Is that my crazy uncle?” Wow! But as the letter writer points out, Gary kind of missed the mark about socialism;

Perhaps instead of vilifying Democrats, it might be good to acknowledge some programs that were accomplished during years when Democrats were in power: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration, FEMA, Head Start, and yes, subsidies to farmers, to name a few. Who wants to get rid of these programs? Yet, they could all be considered “socialist” as they are funded by public monies from all of us.

I would also like to include public education and libraries. Also locally the millions we give in tax rebates to wealthy developers in the form of TIF’s and BIDs. Mostly to those who fund the SD Fascist Republican party. Oh, but we can’t mention them? Can we? Or the $250K we pushed thru the CVB to Mayor TenHaken’s former(?) ad agency to promote Covid tourism here – but how can he frickin’ stop the spread? Moron.

But you know who is the biggest benefactor of ‘socialism’ in our country is?

Conservative estimates put U.S. direct subsidies to the fossil fuel industry at roughly $20 billion per year; with 20 percent currently allocated to coal and 80 percent to natural gas and crude oil. 

Yup, you guessed it, the very industries Mr. Hanson is supposed to be regulating.

So the next time Crazy Uncle Hanson wants to go on one of his ‘pooping in people’s pockets’ rants maybe he should tell the American taxpayer how the fossil fuel industry has been doing that to us for years. Your retirement can’t come soon enough.

LET’S ALSO TALK ABOUT ALL THE FREEDOMS THE SOUTH DAKOTA FASCIST REPUBLICAN PARTY HAS GIVEN US

South Dakota rates almost DEAD LAST on all of these issues, and it is getting worse the longer they are in power;

• Ag commodities prices due to an ignorant trade war with China

• South Dakota has one of the most corrupt state legislatures in the nation

• Low wages

• Expensive higher education

• Expensive healthcare

• Lax worker safety laws

• NO gun safety laws

• Equality

Are you tired yet of all the ‘Freedoms’ the SD Fascist Republican Party has given you over the past 4 decades? With having the majority in Pierre and many local government entities this long, you would think we would be better off? Not a chance.

Elections Kristi Noem PUC

What is the actual function of the PUC? The competing views… (Guest Poster)

l3wis 5Comments

Who is Fiegen looking out for?

Notice how Kristi Fiegen and Chris Nelson are never really talking about protecting the citizens? Kristi’s ads focus on protecting business. Does this mentality have something to do with her past positions with ALEC and the money each has received over the years from the energy companies they are to regulate? Read Fiegen’s material and listen to her ads, we’ll give you a moment, or two….  Look for these messages to let you care only about the corporation’s needs.  Nowhere in their collective messages do the say they are protecting us, the citizens, from the abuses levied upon us.  Think about it…

Hurt businesses in South Dakota versus hurt citizens of South Dakota?  Since when is more import to protect business in South Dakota than the people? Is the PUC there to protect the businesses from the wrath of the people for the abuses perpetrated by the businesses?

After Governor Frank Farrar’s disastrous decision to regulate the REA coops in 1969 the people of South Dakota understood the real need for a strong people oriented PUC.  For most of the next 40 years, Democrats had a seat at the table to keep the utilities functioning as they should, protecting the citizens.  In 1973 a young person, a single citizen, from a small South Dakota town actually was able to bring an action before the PUC against Northwestern Bell.  This action brought NW Bell to their knees.  NW Bell was not allowed to have a rate increase for about two years because the PUC agreed with the teenager.  I know this story well.  I was the teenager.  This action forced NW Bell to improve their service.  This action was accomplished because we had a PUC who could not be accused of being tied to the utilities.

Kristi and Chris are tied to the ALEC utility companies they have to regulate.  Who should we trust?

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