Carbon Dioxide Rules Unlikely to Affect Coop Credit Quality
Posted on Apr 30, 2012 in Climate Change, Environmental, Financing, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Carbon Dioxide Rules Unlikely to Affect Coop Credit Quality
According to a report from Standard & Poor’s Research (S&P), the proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions from new coal plants are unlikely to affect the credit quality of electric cooperatives. The EPA has proposed new emissions restrictions that will require modification at some coal-fired plants. The S&P report...
Kansas Coops Become 100-Percent Borrowers of CFC
Meade-based CMS Electric Cooperative, Inc. and nearby Pratt-based Ninnescah Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. have both closed deals to become 100-percent borrowers of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC). Both coops cited CFC’s high level of customer service and the low interest rates and savings that CFC could provide by refinancing their existing debt...Montana Senators Seek Upgrades to State’s Power Grid
Posted on Apr 30, 2012 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Legislative & Politics, Reliability | Comments Off on Montana Senators Seek Upgrades to State’s Power Grid
Two Montana senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, are asking U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to create a timeline for implementing upgrades to the state’s power grid in order to aid cooperatives. The plan, if implemented, would affect the Bonneville Power Administration and the Western Area Power Administration, which serve electric coops that provide electricity to more than...
House Committee Blocks Funding for Energy Department Plans for PMAs
Posted on Apr 30, 2012 in Climate Change, Environmental, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on House Committee Blocks Funding for Energy Department Plans for PMAs
On April 25, the House Appropriations Committee approved by voice vote an amendment to the fiscal 2013 Energy and Water spending bill that blocks funding for proposed changes that would affect power marketing administrations (PMAs) and their customers. In testimony before the House Committee, NRECA CEO Glenn English raised concerns that the proposed plans would impose high costs on...
Senate Agriculture Committee Approves RESPA
Posted on Apr 30, 2012 in Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Senate Agriculture Committee Approves RESPA
The Rural Energy Savings Program Act (RESPA), sometimes referred to as the Conrad-Lugar Amendment, includes four policy improvements designed to help rural families, farms and small businesses save money on their energy bills. Generally, the proposed legislation: (1) authorizes coops to provide low-interest loans to members for energy efficiency improvements; (2) changes the...
North Dakota Approves Minnkota Line Route
Posted on Apr 26, 2012 in Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development, Reliability | Comments Off on North Dakota Approves Minnkota Line Route
The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved a final route for the state’s largest transmission line project in decades. Minnkota Power Cooperative will construct the 250-mile line from Center, North Dakota, to Grand Forks. The project is estimated to cost approximately $312 million. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2013. Click here for the full...
House Bill Offers Coop Lenders Relief from Dodd-Frank
Posted on Apr 26, 2012 in Financing, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on House Bill Offers Coop Lenders Relief from Dodd-Frank
The Small Business Credit Availability Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives this week and moves on to the Senate. The bill would revise the Dodd-Frank Act to exempt smaller banks, including those offering financing to rural coops, from certain provisions of the major regulatory reform law. With less red tape and new costs to deal with, smaller banks and similar financial...
Kansas Coop Customers See Green for Being Green
Posted on Apr 26, 2012 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Technology | Comments Off on Kansas Coop Customers See Green for Being Green
The Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative is kicking off a program to encourage its customers to save power during the summer peak season. The Peak Savers Program will pay customers $1 for every kilowatt-hour saved during peak hours between July and August. The coop tested this program with a small group last year, but more than 1,000 customers are expected to participate this...
Five New Copper Theft Bills Signed Into Law
Posted on Apr 23, 2012 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on Five New Copper Theft Bills Signed Into Law
Governors in Georgia, West Virginia, Iowa, Washington and Kentucky have signed copper theft bills into law. The Washington bill was partially vetoed by Gov. Christine Gregoire who objected to the creation of a 24-member task force to study the issue of metal theft and make recommendations to the legislature. Gov. Gregoire did, however, approve the parts of the bill that make it...
New York Regulator Approves Low-Cost Power Incentive Deal for Aerospace Company
Posted on Apr 23, 2012 in Energy Savings Programs, Financing, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on New York Regulator Approves Low-Cost Power Incentive Deal for Aerospace Company
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees has approved an allocation of 2,300 kilowatts of low-cost power for the Amphenol Aerospace Operations of Sidney, New York. The $20 million incentive package to Amphenol is intended to keep the company in Sidney and save nearly 1,000 jobs. The power allocation request was submitted to NYPA by the Delaware County Electric...
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