House Subcommittee Rejects Administration’s RUS Limitations
Posted on Jun 6, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on House Subcommittee Rejects Administration’s RUS Limitations
A House subcommittee supports a bill providing $4 billion to the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) loan program but opposes limitations on that amount proposed by the Obama Administration. The Administration would allocate $3 billion for renewable-energy-related projects and the remaining $1 billion to environmental upgrade projects. The House subcommittee would provide more flexibility...
Colorado Governor Signs Bill Requiring More Renewables
Posted on Jun 6, 2013 in Legislative & Politics, Project Development, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Colorado Governor Signs Bill Requiring More Renewables
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law a bill requiring certain rural cooperatives to obtain 20 percent and municipal utilities to obtain 10 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. Smaller coops will not see the same increase. Rural coops may charge customers an additional two percent on their monthly bills to help pay for the additional...
Two G&T Coops Seek Change in Rail Shipping Regulations
Posted on Jun 6, 2013 in Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Two G&T Coops Seek Change in Rail Shipping Regulations
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) and Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc. have joined other shippers in requesting that the federal Surface Transportation Board change rules related to switching carload freight between carriers. The proposal, called reciprocal switching, would allow captive shippers, subject to certain conditions, to access a second carrier if their...
Coop President Testifies on Cyber Security
Posted on May 23, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Reliability | Comments Off on Coop President Testifies on Cyber Security
Duane Highley, president of the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee in an effort to ease further cyber security mandates on power utilities. Highley stated that voluntary industry standards are working to protect the energy grid, but some lawmakers argued that mandatory compliance should be required. To read more about this...
Coops Advocate Water Heater Rule Change
Posted on May 15, 2013 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Coops Advocate Water Heater Rule Change
Electric cooperatives are advocating that the Department of Energy (DOE) make changes to a new rule that would phase out large-capacity electric storage water heaters from demand management programs. These water heaters save time and energy for cooperatives and provide significant reductions in wholesale power costs. Currently, the DOE has offered one-year waivers for the water...
Obama Administration Proposes New Restrictions on RUS Financing
Posted on May 14, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Obama Administration Proposes New Restrictions on RUS Financing
The Department of Agriculture announced a fiscal 2014 budget of $4 billion for the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Loan Program. Of that amount, $3 billion would be earmarked for renewable energy projects with the remaining $1 billion held for environmental upgrades. The proposed budget provides no money for other distribution or transmission projects, a void that lawmakers...
Coop Leaders Meet with President Obama to Discuss Response to Grid Reliability
Posted on May 14, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Coop Leaders Meet with President Obama to Discuss Response to Grid Reliability
On May 8, nearly three dozen electric utility executives met with President Obama to discuss ways to improve the industry’s ability to respond to major disruptions or threats to grid reliability, such as the outages that occurred with Superstorm Sandy. The group discussed ways to better aid the collective response required at such times, including providing adequate food and lodging...
Texas Utilities May Buy Surplus Solar Energy from Customers
Posted on May 7, 2013 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Rates, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Texas Utilities May Buy Surplus Solar Energy from Customers
A bill passed in the Texas Senate proposes that utilities pay Texas customers that generate excess solar energy a fair market price for their contributions to the electrical grid. Under current law, if a utility does not voluntarily offer to buy excess solar energy, customers must negotiate directly with their providers to be compensated for the energy they add to the grid. Read more...
Colorado May Double Renewable Energy Goals for Rural Electric Coops
Posted on May 1, 2013 in Legislative & Politics, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Colorado May Double Renewable Energy Goals for Rural Electric Coops
The Colorado House of Representatives has passed a bill which would increase the amount of renewable energy rural electric cooperatives in the state must use. The mandate would require these cooperatives to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. The bill also increased the amount that electric cooperatives can charge customers for the new power sources to...
Kansas Coop Votes on Whether to be Self-Regulated
Posted on Apr 29, 2013 in Corporate Governance, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Kansas Coop Votes on Whether to be Self-Regulated
Members of Midwest Energy, a gas and electric coop, are voting on whether they want the Kansas Corporation Commission to continue having regulatory authority over their coop. The coop expects to realize a number benefits if its members approve giving authority to a local board of directors and operating as a self-regulated entity. If approved, Midwest Energy would be the 27th out of...
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