City of Bushnell Attempting to Purchase SECO’s Electric Territory
Posted on Oct 9, 2015 in Mergers/Acquisitions, Rates | Comments Off on City of Bushnell Attempting to Purchase SECO’s Electric Territory
Despite resistance from Sumter Electric Cooperative (SECO), the city of Bushnell (City) is attempting to exercise an option at the end of its 30-year lease to buy SECO’s substation, power lines and territory to prepare for future growth. The purchase would allow the City’s electric utility to grow because its electric system is surrounded by SECO’s electric territory and almost...
Integrated Test Center to be Located at Basin Electric’s Dry Creek Station
Posted on Oct 9, 2015 in Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency | Comments Off on Integrated Test Center to be Located at Basin Electric’s Dry Creek Station
Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s (Basic Electric) Dry Fork Station near Gillette, WY will be home to the new Integrated Test Center (ITC). The research at the ITC will lead to new opportunities in petrochemicals and other commercial uses for carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants. Mike Easley, Chairman of the Wyoming Infrastructure Authority, says: “We have a real...
Eighth Circuit Upholds FERC Rule on Coop Avoided Cost Rates
Posted on Oct 8, 2015 in Rates, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Eighth Circuit Upholds FERC Rule on Coop Avoided Cost Rates
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has upheld the long-standing determination by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that the avoided cost rate paid by a distribution cooperative for energy purchased from a qualifying cogeneration or small power production facility (QF) is the same as the avoided cost rate of the distribution coop’s generation and transmission...
Solar Shortages Threaten Cooperative Utility Projects
Posted on Oct 8, 2015 in Climate Change, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Solar Shortages Threaten Cooperative Utility Projects
Shortages of solar panel equipment are expected in 2016, with lead times of up to six months for larger orders. Dan Danley, contract technical liaison with NRECA’s Business and Technology Strategies unit, has been warning utilities to plan ahead to avoid solar project delays. The projected shortages are the result of increased demand for solar equipment driven in part by a 30 percent...
Settlement Reached for Utah Coal Plant
Posted on Oct 7, 2015 in Climate Change, Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Settlement Reached for Utah Coal Plant
Deseret Electric Power Cooperative (Deseret), WildEarth Guardians, the Sierra Club and federal regulators have reached an agreement establishing limits on the amount of coal that the Bonanza Power Plant, located in Uintah County, Utah, may burn. The limits imposed by the deal could result in the early retirement of the Bonanza Power Plant, but Deseret believes the deal will allow for...
Colorado Coop Institutes New Charge for Solar Customers
Posted on Oct 7, 2015 in Corporate Governance, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Colorado Coop Institutes New Charge for Solar Customers
The board of Colorado-based cooperative Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) recently voted to institute a new charge on customers that rely on solar power during the day and IREA at night. The new charge, called a “Load Factor Adjustment” is meant to recover costs of service from IREA customers with solar panels that sell excess power to IREA by way of net metering. The...
SEC Announces Second Round of Charges against Underwriters under MCDC Initiative
Posted on Oct 6, 2015 in Uncategorized | Comments Off on SEC Announces Second Round of Charges against Underwriters under MCDC Initiative
On September 30, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced enforcement actions against 22 municipal bond underwriters, the second round of enforcement actions brought by the SEC under the Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation Initiative (MCDC Initiative). The SEC brought these enforcement actions based on the underwriters self-reporting potential continuing...
Historic Flooding Hits South Carolina’s Electric Coops
Posted on Oct 6, 2015 in Climate Change, Environmental, Reliability | Comments Off on Historic Flooding Hits South Carolina’s Electric Coops
Epic rainfall over South Carolina is inundating electric cooperative substations, flooding ground-mounted transformer vaults and toppling trees with weakened root systems into power lines.
Mississippi Considers Net Metering
Posted on Oct 6, 2015 in Rates, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Mississippi Considers Net Metering
The Mississippi Public Service Commission (Commission) is considering a plan to mandate that utilities pay solar panel owners for power they generate. Electric cooperatives, which serve 767,000 Mississippi customers, argue the Commission can’t legally force them to adopt net metering.
Hawaii Coop to Offer Daytime Discounts
Posted on Oct 5, 2015 in Energy Savings Programs, Innovation/Efficiency, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Hawaii Coop to Offer Daytime Discounts
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) is planning to roll out the pilot version of a program that would discount customer-members’ rates for electricity used during the day. KIUC has identified 300 residential customers whose rates between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. would be shaved by 25 percent. The innovative concept, which may initially appear counterintuitive when compared to off-peak...
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