Otter Tail to take more from South Dakota customers

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Otter Tail Power can start charging its South Dakota customers a little more for electricity.

The company plans to use the additional $3.2 million of revenue during the coming 12 months to help pay for several wind-power facilities and for other improvements.

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission granted Otter Tail’s revised request on Tuesday. The commission’s staff recommended approval effective September 1, 2024.

Customers will be charged according to how much electricity is used and how many electrical meters they have.

For a residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month and with one meter, the average monthly bill will rise to $112.44.

The additional $4.14 for that customer is less than the $7.98 that Otter Tail originally had wanted .

Questions from commission staff led Otter Tail to reduce its original request for an additional $4,531,109 of revenue in its initial filing to $3,216,072, a decrease of $1,315,037.

“There’s a lot of capital investment going on here, which is reflected in this increase,” commissioner Chris Nelson said.

But, Nelson added, the commission staff also took steps to benefit customers. “I appreciate that balance,” he said.

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