Xcel Energy receives permission through 2025 to continue charging South Dakota electric customers a special fee to encourage efficient energy usage.
PUC commissioners also approve for the company to continue transmission project cost recovery.
Kristie Fiegen is the Chairperson for the PUC. She said that customers should have a choice in how they manage electric use instead of paying a general fee.
“You could have a choice of time of use, you could have a choice of certain peak loads, when you shut down your air-conditioning or whatever. Is there something else we could look at for the future because you guys have done an excellent job at energy efficiency and educating our South Dakota consumers on that.” We’ve used the incentives and now I wonder if we could spend that money differently, or maybe save the money and let the customers have a choice,” said Fiegen.
Steve Kolbeck is the Principal Manager for Xcel Energy. He said consumers need more information about energy efficiency. He said technology will help lower energy use.
“For the future of electric use, I think as a whole in the nation, we have to give customers more information in their hand. And people want it and obviously if you’re on your phone and can open an app which you’re going to be able to with Xcel, and then understand why your bill is what it is on a day to day, minute to minute usage, that alone is going to carry the torch a long ways,” said Kolbeck.
The PUC also approved the continuation of Xcel’s transmission cost recovery package.
This is when customers are charged a fee for a company to recover the costs of building, maintaining, and upgrading electrical transmission systems.
Chris Nelson is a PUC commissioner. He encouraged Xcel to begin looking for an alternative to its current recovery package.
“We are on the front end of some tremendous capital investments that are being looked at for new transmission. That will only grossly exaggerate this problem today of South Dakota customers picking up cost to send power to places other than here. At some level we’re going to have to resolve that because this is not going to be an open checkbook for South Dakota customers to send power to Minnesota and Point’s East,” said Nelson.
Xcel’s manager agrees stakeholders involved with the transmission cost recovery plan could be doing a better job at ensuring equal benefit for all parties.
