Fiegen begins new term on South Dakota Public Utilities Commission

South Dakota Public Utilities Commissioner Kristie Fiegen was recently sworn into office to begin her new term.

South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Janine Kern administered the oath at a ceremony held in Pierre, South Dakota.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard first appointed Fiegen to the PUC in August 2011 to fill a vacancy. She was elected to serve a full, six-year term in November 2012 and was re-elected in November 2018. In 2017 and 2018, Fiegen served as the commission’s chairperson, and in 2012, 2015 and 2016, she served as vice chairperson.

“South Dakota is my passion,” Fiegen said. “It’s the state I grew up in and the state I’m raising my family in. That’s why protecting South Dakota consumers is so important to me. I’m grateful to the people of South Dakota for the confidence they have instilled in me, and I look forward to continuing to dive deep into the issues that impact utility consumers in our state.”

Fiegen currently serves as secretary and treasurer of the Southwest Power Pool’s Regional State Committee, is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Committee on Gas and Subcommittee on Pipeline Safety and serves on the Gas Technology Institute’s Public Interest Advisory Committee.

Before her time at the PUC, Fiegen was president of Junior Achievement of South Dakota for 17 years, was the South Dakota area manager for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for nine years and served four terms as a legislator in the South Dakota House of Representatives.