East River Electric

South Dakota PUC Approves MDU Power Service for Proposed Leola Data Center

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) unanimously approved a settlement agreement, allowing Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) to provide electricity to the proposed Leola Data Center, overriding the traditional service area of FEM Electric Association. This decision clears a significant regulatory hurdle, though the project still requires conditional use permit approval from the local county zoning and planning board. The settlement also reduced the data center's footprint and included safeguards for future power demands.