Colorado Coop Continues Restoration Efforts After Fire
Posted on Aug 30, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability | Comments Off on Colorado Coop Continues Restoration Efforts After Fire
Mountain View Electric Association is working to rebuild damaged power supply infrastructure, including 41 miles of distribution lines, following the Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs. The coop continues to work diligently and has already restored more than half of the downed distribution lines. The blog Powering the West has more on Mountain View’s progress.
Kentucky Coops Gear Up for Cybersecurity Review
Posted on Aug 22, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Kentucky Coops Gear Up for Cybersecurity Review
The Kentucky Public Service Commission received a grant from the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners to conduct a cybersecurity study of several electric distribution coops. The effort will result in a report that identifies cybersecurity risks, best practices and recommended next steps to protect infrastructure at a reasonable cost to ratepayers. Click here for...
Coop Expresses Transmission Concerns with Wind Proposal
Posted on Aug 20, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Coop Expresses Transmission Concerns with Wind Proposal
BNE Energy, a Connecticut company, is seeking to develop a new six-turbine, 18-MW wind project adjacent to Green Mountain Power’s existing 21-turbine Kingdom Community wind project. Some are saying there is not enough available transmission for both. Vermont Electric Cooperative has weighed in on the subject, expressing concern that the new turbines would exacerbate the...
Transmission Line Raises Cost Allocation Issues
Posted on Aug 16, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency | Comments Off on Transmission Line Raises Cost Allocation Issues
The city planning commission in Wasilla, Alaska, is requiring Matanuska Electric Association to build new power lines underground to preserve scenic views along the Parks Highway near Wasilla. The $40 million project is approximately four times the cost of standard above-ground transmission poles. The coop recently announced its plan to file a tariff case allocating costs to...
RUS to Conduct New Report on Transmission Project
Posted on Aug 15, 2013 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on RUS to Conduct New Report on Transmission Project
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has announced that it will conduct a supplemental environmental impact report for Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s proposed North Dakota transmission line. This decision came from a need to consider new aspects of the plan. Read more here.
Vermont Coop Limits Future Solar Installations
Posted on Aug 15, 2013 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Coop Limits Future Solar Installations
Washington Electric Co-op (WEC) has announced that, as of October, it will limit the use of net metering for future solar installations on its system to the size of 5 kilowatts. In Vermont, the practice of net metering allows a utility’s members to make solar installations on a utility’s system and sell such power to the utility. WEC’s decision to limit the size of future...
White House Calls for Additional Spending on Nation’s Power Grid
Posted on Aug 13, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability, Technology | Comments Off on White House Calls for Additional Spending on Nation’s Power Grid
The Obama Administration has released a report on the costs of power outages, which calls for increased spending on the nation’s electric power system. According to the report, power outages cost the economy $18 billion to $33 billion per year. Seven of the ten most costly storms in U.S. history occurred between 2004 and 2012, during a time when the U.S. electric grid was...
Wisconsin Bill to Protect Coops From Civil Suits
Posted on Aug 2, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Wisconsin Bill to Protect Coops From Civil Suits
Wisconsin State Assembly representatives have proposed Assembly Bill 257 to protect coops and other electricity providers from civil liability for damage to persons and property resulting from power service. The bill does not intend to modify existing standards related to permissible stray voltage levels, but critics say the bill will take utilities off the hook for related harm and...
Alaska Coop Seeking to Partner with State on Developing LNG Plant
Posted on Jul 30, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Permitting | Comments Off on Alaska Coop Seeking to Partner with State on Developing LNG Plant
Alaska’s Golden Valley Electric Association is one of four entities seeking to partner with the state in developing a small LNG plant at Prudhoe Bay, a spokesman for the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority said. The proposed LNG plant would process 9 billion cubic feet of gas per year and ship 300,000 gallons of LNG per day by truck to Fairbanks in Interior Alaska. For...
Oregon Utilities Consider Territory Transfer
Posted on Jul 25, 2013 in Corporate Governance, Grid & Infrastructure | Comments Off on Oregon Utilities Consider Territory Transfer
The Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB), an Oregon municipal utility, is considering transferring a portion of its McKenzie River Valley service territory to Lane Electric Cooperative (Lane Electric). The transfer will only occur if EWEB and Lane Electric determine that such a transfer would make “technical, operational, business and customer sense.” Both EWEB and Lane Electric...
Subscribe
