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Appropriators approve funding for PUC analysts to track regional transmission plans
Summary
The Joint Committee on Appropriations approved two analyst positions and a fund swap for the Public Utilities Commission to provide technical review in regional transmission organization planning; votes on motions A5 and A7 passed and the committee set the agency's budget with the changes.
The Joint Committee on Appropriations on March 5 approved funding to add analysts at the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to work on regional transmission organization (RTO) issues, saying the state needs technical capacity to protect ratepayers in large multi-state transmission projects.
Representative Norstrup argued the hires were cost-effective, saying the state must "show up with the math" when multi‑billion‑dollar transmission proposals are negotiated so South Dakota customers do not bear an outsized share of costs. The committee adopted alternative motion A5 to fund a full‑time RTO analyst at $170,232 (16 yays, 2 nays) and motion A7 to fund a part‑time analyst at $64,151 (15 yays, 3 nays). The committee also adopted a technical fund swap (A9) to correct an $11,786 allocation between other funds.
PUC Commissioner Christy Fegan told the committee the positions matter because South Dakota participates in multiple regional markets and needs a voice at the table: "This is taxpayers' money or ratepayers' money," Fegan said, urging the legislature to help the commission "save money for those people." Cindy Kemance, the PUC finance manager, explained that telecom revenue streams that historically supported the agency (for example, landlines) have declined and that the gross‑receipts tax fund has seasonal variability; she projected a low cash balance near $500,000 later in the fiscal year.
Jim Twilliger of the Bureau of Finance and Management urged caution before adding recurring positions funded from the gross‑receipts fund and explained the governor's package included a general‑fund increase for the PUC but did not recommend the full set of additional positions; he warned that funding every agency request would create a significant gap in statewide budgeting.
After acting on the three motion sheets, the committee voted to set the PUC budget at the levels in the motion sheet, including $1,421,812 in general funds, $421,672 in federal fund authority, $3,554,043 in other fund authority and 31.22 FTE (18 yays). The committee recorded the line‑item approvals and will incorporate them into the agency's appropriation documents for the remainder of the session.
The votes conclude the committee's morning consideration of the PUC; additional budget items for other agencies were set later in the day.
