CFTC and FERC Announce Implementation of Information Sharing MOU
Posted on Mar 5, 2014
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have announced the initial transmission of market data under the recently-adopted CFTC-FERC Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for use in analyzing market activities and protecting market integrity. To read more about this announcement, click here.
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CFTC Announces End-User Roundtable
Posted on Mar 5, 2014
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced that its staff will hold a public roundtable to discuss issues concerning end-users and Dodd-Frank on April 3, 2014. The roundtable will consist of three panels discussing various issues affecting end-users, including electric cooperatives, and is open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. Read the full press release.
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Basin Electric Increases Power Generation
Posted on Mar 4, 2014
Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) now has three units of its Pioneer Generation Station in service. The gas-fired generation facilities, located in Williston, North Dakota, will help add much-needed electricity into the oil drilling region. Basin Electric is now in the process of building three more gas-fired generators near Watford City, North Dakota, all as part of a plan to help supply the skyrocketing load growth in the region. Click here for more information.
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Minnkota Facing Tough Winter Delays on Power Line Project
Posted on Mar 4, 2014
Minnkota Power Cooperative’s (Minnkota) $312-million, 345-kilovolt Center-to-Grand Forks, North Dakota, transmission line is now being delayed by about five months due to extreme winter weather. Though the project is over 90 percent complete, Minnkota’s ability to construct the line has simply made the initial completion date of February 2014 impossible. Read more here.
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Haiti Welcomes New Coop
Posted on Mar 3, 2014
Coopérative Electrique de l’Arrondissement des Coteaux is a new electric cooperative, established with assistance from NRECA International Ltd. in Haiti. As of now, the cooperative can serve about 1,600 customers, and its infrastructure consists of 33 miles of power lines. Power will be generated by a solar-diesel hybrid system. For more information, click here.
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Maryland PSC to Impose Smart Meter Opt-Out Fees
Posted on Mar 3, 2014
According to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), residential and small commercial customers of Baltimore Gas & Electric Company, Potomac Electric Power Company, Delmarva Power and Light Company and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative who decline installation of a smart meter will have to pay a one-time fee after July 1, 2014. The fee is intended to pay for the separate infrastructure that will have to be maintained for non-smart meter users until all customers opt in to the smart meter system. Read the full press release here.
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KIUC to Begin Work on 12-MW Solar Project
Posted on Mar 3, 2014
After receiving approval of the ground lease from the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) is ready to begin work on its $54 million Anahola solar project. The estimated cost to KIUC’s members for the solar project is around 12.5 cents per kilowatt hour, while the cost of oil generation is around 24 cents. This solar project will use local labor where possible and is a large step towards KIUC reaching its goal of generating 50 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2023. See KIUC’s press release for more.
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NRECA Comments on OSHA Rule Regarding Silica Exposure
Posted on Feb 25, 2014
In response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) draft rule regarding crystalline silica, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) argued in its comments that an exemption for cooperatives is appropriate, given that distribution cooperative employees primarily encounter trace amounts of silica when digging and moving earth. For generation and transmission cooperatives, NRECA requested an extension to the comment period so that interested parties can review the supporting materials that OSHA took the past 10 years to develop. NRECA also stressed...
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Coops Urge EPA to Expand Uses of Coal Ash Considered Safe
Posted on Feb 25, 2014
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already recognized the benefits of certain uses of coal ash, and electric coops are now asking the EPA to conclude that it is safe for other uses. John Novak, Executive Director for Environmental Issues for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, has stated that the EPA “can do more to promote other beneficial uses of coal ash.” U. S. Department of Agriculture studies show that coal ash boosts calcium levels in soil and improves crop productivity, and the material has also been used in highway embankments and structural...
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Kentucky PSC Approves Environmental Upgrades
Posted on Feb 21, 2014
The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a $15 million project to reduce emissions at a coal-fired generation plant owned by East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC). EKPC will recover the costs of the project via an environmental surcharge paid by the customers of EKPC’s distribution cooperative members. The Kentucky PSC found that the upgrades will provide EKPC with necessary capacity at the lowest cost and at minimal financial risk. Read more here.
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Iowa Nuclear Plant to Face Heightened NRC Scrutiny
Posted on Feb 20, 2014
The Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo, Iowa, will undergo increased inspections and heightened Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) scrutiny after backup equipment problems were discovered at the plant in 2013. While public safety was never threatened, the problems prompted additional NRC oversight. The Des Moines Register has the full story.
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GRE to Add Solar
Posted on Feb 20, 2014
Great River Energy (GRE) plans to build several solar energy installations by mid-2015 to generate a total output of 650 kW that will help GRE better understand the potential for solar development and its impact on current and future project initiatives. GRE continues to expand its renewable energy portfolio and is ahead of the curve on compliance with Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard. Read more here.
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DOE to Approve Loan For Nuclear Reactors
Posted on Feb 20, 2014
In a move over 30 years in the making, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to approve $6.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for two additional nuclear reactors located at Plant Vogtle, a nuclear plant in Georgia. Oglethorpe Power Corporation is among the owners of the project. The reactors would represent the first time since the 1970s that the U.S. has built reactors. To learn more about this exciting development, click here (subscription required).
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North Dakota Joins EPA Haze Authority Case
Posted on Feb 18, 2014
North Dakota has filed a petition for certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court hoping to prevent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from denouncing the state’s emissions control plan in favor of a federal plan. Specifically, the petition argues that the EPA does not have the authority to review and replace state implementation plans for the Clean Air Act’s Regional Haze Rule when they meet the program’s goals. For more information on this case, including the decisions from lower courts and the involvement of Basin Electric Power Cooperative, click here (subscription...
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