South Dakota Coops Respond to Early Season Blizzards
Posted on Oct 9, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure | Comments Off on South Dakota Coops Respond to Early Season Blizzards
Early season blizzards have hit South Dakota, causing damage to the systems of many electric cooperatives. While trying to replace thousands of broken poles and hundreds of miles of disrupted lines, the cooperatives are also facing more damage from falling limbs and muddy surfaces. Dick Johnson, general manager of West River Electric Association, stated, “This is the worst ice and...
FBI Reports Attacks on Arkansas Power Grid
Posted on Oct 7, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure | Comments Off on FBI Reports Attacks on Arkansas Power Grid
The FBI, ATF, Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office, and Cabot Police Department, in coordination with Entergy Arkansas and First Electric Cooperative, are investigating three potentially related attacks on the Arkansas power grid. The FBI has announced a $25,000 reward leading to arrests in connection with the incidents. In the first incident, a high-voltage transmission line was downed...
Iowa Coop Refinances More Than $8 Million in Outstanding Debt
Posted on Oct 7, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development | Comments Off on Iowa Coop Refinances More Than $8 Million in Outstanding Debt
Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative (RVEC), which serves parts of nine counties in west-central Iowa, has refinanced more than $8 million in outstanding debt with other lenders. After a January 2010 ice storm ravaged RVEC’s system, requiring millions of dollars in restoration and reconstruction work, the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) provided an...
Iowa Coops Appeal Denial of FEMA Aid
Posted on Oct 2, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Iowa Coops Appeal Denial of FEMA Aid
Iowa electric cooperatives are appealing a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which denied $20 million in aid for emergency and permanent repair costs from a snow and ice storm in spring 2012. FEMA based its decision on distribution and transmission line laboratory testing requirements, passed in 2009, which the Iowa coops claim are unrealistic. To read more...
NRECA Receives $3.6 Million Cyber Security Grant
Posted on Sep 25, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Technology | Comments Off on NRECA Receives $3.6 Million Cyber Security Grant
The Department of Energy recently awarded the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) a $3.6 million grant to be used to develop advanced cyber security technology to assist rural cooperatives in monitoring and securely managing their systems from changing threats. NRECA will work with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University, Honeywell...
Louisiana Coop Looks to Grow With CFC Financing Deal
Posted on Sep 23, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure | Comments Off on Louisiana Coop Looks to Grow With CFC Financing Deal
Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative (JDEC), based in Jennings, Louisiana, has refinanced more than $10.7 million in outstanding debt with other lenders, becoming a 100-percent National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) borrower. JDEC is expecting substantial growth over the next decade as a result of the ongoing boom in domestic natural gas production. Click here...
Alaska Coop Appeals Order to Bury Lines
Posted on Sep 19, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Litigation, Project Development, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Alaska Coop Appeals Order to Bury Lines
Matanuska Electric Association (MEA) has filed an appeal of the city of Wasilla’s decision to give MEA a permit to build a 115-kilovolt transmission line only if the coop puts the line underground. The city says that it wants to safeguard Wasilla’s scenery and property values, but MEA has said the requirement to bury the lines could quadruple the cost of the project to $40 million....
Iowa Coops Protest Denial of Aid for Storm Damage
Posted on Sep 19, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Iowa Coops Protest Denial of Aid for Storm Damage
Representatives of several Iowa power providers traveled to Washington, D.C., after they learned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) denied disaster aid for coops in Dickinson, Osceola, Lyon, Sioux and O’Brien counties. Three Iowa electric cooperatives and two municipal utilities reported damage to infrastructure after a severe ice storm passed through the Iowa Great Lakes...
Colorado Coops Crippled by Floods
Posted on Sep 17, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability | Comments Off on Colorado Coops Crippled by Floods
Colorado electric coops have not begun calculating the damage to their systems from the recent floods because crews cannot access the damaged areas. The roads – especially bridges – have been so hard hit by rising waters that crews are forced to wait before they can respond and repair. Click here for more.
USDA Announces $11 Million in Loan Guarantees for Smart Grid Improvements
Posted on Sep 9, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on USDA Announces $11 Million in Loan Guarantees for Smart Grid Improvements
At a recent regional meeting of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack highlighted the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) funding of projects across eight states, including $11 million in loan guarantees for smart grid improvements. See the USDA press release for a complete list of projects.
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