Eversheds Sutherland Coop Law Blog
content top

Electric Cooperatives Discuss Top Policy Priorities for 2023

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association held a recent Question and Answer session to outline its 2023 policy goals aimed at helping pass legislation benefiting cooperatives and ensuring the new laws are implemented as intended.

Louisiana Regulator Approves Cooperative Power Deals

A Louisiana regulator approved two power procurement deals sought by Dixie Electric Membership Cooperative and Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative to acquire power from NextEra. The move came despite objections by Louisiana’s electric monopolies. According to Public Service Commissioner Craig Greene, the deals could save cooperatives $160 million over the next decade.

New Climate Law a Game Changer for Electric Cooperatives

The Inflation Reduction Act will unlock billions of dollars’ worth of clean energy tax credits previously inaccessible to community-owned electrical cooperatives, as well as $9.7 billion in grants and loans for such cooperatives to purchase or build new clean energy systems.

FERC Deadlock Leads to Approval of Southeastern Regional Energy Market Platform

The Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) received clearance from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for their proposed trading platform after a tie vote to approve it. SEEM is a wholesale power market that will facilitate bilateral energy trading at much faster rates than previously available, enabling almost 20 entities across 11 states to deliver an estimated $40 to...

NRECA Expresses Concerns Regarding Expected Timing for Notices of Defaults in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) made a request on April 1 to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the FCC to publicly announce defaults by winning bidders in the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction (RDOF), so that unserved rural communities can pursue other public broadband resources. Without timely public notices of such defaults, rural...

NRECA Urges Congress to Pass $10 Billion in Low-Income Energy Aid

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and six other energy groups wrote a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and related agencies urging Congress to approve an additional $10 billion in emergency assistance to low-income Americans struggling to pay their electric bills during the...

NRECA Expresses Concerns Regarding Winning Bidders in Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), accompanied by a white paper from the NRECA and the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative, detailing concerns about certain winning bids in the first phase of the recent Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction and offering remedies if an FCC review determines...

Members of Congress Call on the FCC to Vet Prospective Rural Broadband Providers

A bipartisan group of senators and House members asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to verify the promises that broadband providers are making in their bid proposals to the recent Rural Digital Opportunity Fund Auction. This request is being made at the urging of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association due to the concerns that some of the winning bidders may...

What Biden’s Victory Means for Electric Cooperatives

Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential race sets the stage for potentially sweeping environmental policy changes. However, his planned policy agenda would be muted by what now looks to be a divided Congress, with a Republican-led Senate and a diminished Democratic majority in the House. In the near term, Biden is expected to push for a broad economic stimulus plan shortly after he...

SMECO Approved to Offer 100% Green Option for Default Service

The Maryland Public Service Commission, in a 4-1 decision, approved the application of Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SMECO) to implement a proposed option for SMECO members who take Standard Offer Service the choice to have SMECO make the power supply for their load one hundred percent “green.”

« Older Entries