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New Mexico City to Receive Power from Coop

The City of Gallup, New Mexico, will buy its wholesale power from Continental Divide Electric Cooperative (CDEC) after its City Council voted unanimously to award CDEC an eight-year contract.  Four other bidders sought the contract, and Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM)  has been Gallup’s provider for more than 50 years.  Gallup will save about $6.4 million during the first...

CoBank’s “Sharing Success” Renewed for 2014

CoBank has announced that it is renewing its “Sharing Success” charitable contribution program for 2014.  CoBank’s board has committed $3 million to the program, which will be used to match donations by cooperative customers to non-profits in their communities.  Click here for more information.

Creditors and Bankrupt Coop Reach Agreement

Southern Montana Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative, which filed for bankruptcy almost three years ago, and its creditors recently agreed to terms that would keep rates at current levels, involve the sale of idle generation assets near Great Falls, Montana, and allow the coop’s four smaller member coops to break up after four years.  The agreement must still be approved...

An End in Sight for Local Jurisdictional Dispute

The city council for McLeansboro, Illinois, appears ready to settle a multi-year lawsuit against Wayne-White Electric Cooperative and a local school district alleging that the coop impinged on the exclusive rights of the municipal electric utility to serve the local high school.  Details on the settlement are not yet available; the parties are reviewing and considering ratification of...

New Mexico Coop Under Fire for Wildfire

Local ranchers sued the Mora-San Miguel Electrical Cooperative in state court alleging that the coop failed to trim or remove trees that ultimately damaged power lines and caused a large wildfire in the area last summer.  The Albuquerque Journal has the full story.

ODEC Receives Approval for 1,000-MW Natural Gas-Fired Plant

Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), a Virginia-based G&T, obtained approval from the Maryland Public Service Commission for its planned 1,000-MW natural gas-fired plant to be built in Cecil County, Maryland.  The project, known as the Wildcat Point plant, is expected to come online by June 2017 and will be built next to the existing Rock Springs generating facility in Rising...

Coop Pension Bill Passed in House

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act (H.R. 4275).  This Act makes permanent a temporary exemption for rural cooperative “multiple-employer” defined benefit plans and similar plans for other not-for-profit organizations from the Pension Protection Act.  The Act will next go to the President for enactment.  For...

Coops Collectively Investing in 517-kW Solar Project

Four electric utility coops in the Midwest will become joint owners of a 517-kW solar project developed by Dragonfly Solar, a commercial solar developer based in Lakeville, Minnesota, and SolarWorld, the largest U.S. solar manufacturer.  This is the first U.S. solar project to be jointly owned and developed by utility coops.  For more details and to see which four coops are involved,...

CFTC Issues No-Action Relief From De Minimis Threshold for Certain Swaps

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) issued temporary no-action relief from the $25 million special entity de minimis threshold used to determine “swap dealer” status under the CFTC’s swap regulatory regime.  The no-action relief applies only to certain swap transactions described in the no-action letter and remains in effect until the CFTC rules on a petition filed by...

Electric Coops Seek FCC Funding for Broadband Projects

More than 100 electric cooperatives, sparked by an initial inquiry by Michigan-based Midwest Energy, have filed an “expression of interest” with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), indicating that they are interested in receiving aid through the Connect America Fund to build broadband projects in their communities.  Seventy-three percent of the 20 million Americans without...

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