Dust Settles after Utility Fight with BNSF
Posted on Dec 17, 2013
The verdict is in: Coal shippers led by Arkansas Electric Cooperative will have to comply with BNSF Railway’s (BNSF) loading instructions aimed at suppressing coal dust emissions from Powder River Basin coal trains after the Surface Transportation Board (Board) ruled the requirements were permissible. Since 2009, utilities have fought the requirement to apply surfactants to their coal loads leaving the region. The current proceeding stems from modifications that BNSF made to its tariff after part of the original version was ruled unreasonable. The Board found that shippers did not provide...
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GTC Extends $275 Million Syndication with CFC
Posted on Dec 17, 2013
Georgia Transmission Corporation (GTC), based in Tucker, Georgia, obtained an “amend and extend” transaction that extended the maturity date of a $275 million, five-year syndicated revolving credit facility with the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) by two years. The facility was originally arranged in November 2011. GTC uses the facility primarily to backstop its commercial paper issuance. The coop provides electric transmission service to 38 electric membership coops in Georgia. All six of the original lenders agreed to the extension and to remain at...
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Electric Utilities Retire Generating Capacity Faster Than They Bring it Online
Posted on Dec 16, 2013
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last week that the electric utility industry retired 11.1 GW of generating capacity from January through October of 2013, while adding only about 10 GW of capacity. Coal-fired and nuclear plants represent the largest and second largest shares of retired capacity respectively, the EIA reports. Read more here.
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USDA to Provide More than $1.8 Billion in Funding
Posted on Dec 16, 2013
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Friday that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide over $1.8 billion to fund electric utility infrastructure improvements in 25 states and one territory. The USDA-funded improvements include smart grid and renewable energy projects and the building or improvement of more than 6,500 miles of transmission lines. Click here for more.
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Kentucky PSC Grants Rehearing on Big Rivers
Posted on Dec 13, 2013
The Kentucky Public Service Commission will reconsider the revenues Big Rivers Electric Corporation (Big Rivers) is positioned to receive for its continued operation of a power plant required by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator for reliability reasons. Big Rivers’ opponents claim that the coop understated the revenues it will receive from continued operations by roughly $12 million a year. The rehearing may affect rate increases approved by the state regulator to account for the loss of Big Rivers’ largest customer. The Evansville Courier & Press has the full...
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Vermont Coop Ordered to Stop Net Metering Program
Posted on Dec 13, 2013
The Vermont Public Service Department has directed Washington Electric Co-op (WEC) to suspend its net metering program after the coop attempted to change the program to limit projects to 5 kW due to an existing state cap. The regulator determined that WEC had not been authorized to make this change and therefore must stop accepting applications. The state legislature plans to address the net metering law early next year. Click here for the latest on this story. See the Sutherland Coop Team’s August 15, 2013, post for more on WEC’s net metering issue.
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Columbia River Treaty Needs an Update
Posted on Dec 12, 2013
Based in Eugene, Oregon, Lane Electric Cooperative is among the Northwest utilities pushing for an update to the 1964 Columbia River Treaty, which governs operations along the Columbia River between the U.S. and Canada. Due to changes in how the river operates, the pact that once provided an even split between the two countries now provides more of a 90-10 split in favor of our neighbor to the North. Read more here.
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Second Hawaiian Coop on the Horizon?
Posted on Dec 12, 2013
Molokai may be the second island of Hawaii (Kauai being the first) to purchase its utility and establish an electric coop. High rates are at the root of current tensions between residents on Molokai and their utility Maui Electric Company, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Company. Molokai is also considering a large generation project that would power the island using only renewable energy. To learn more, click here.
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Ice Causes Mayhem in Many States
Posted on Dec 10, 2013
Last week’s winter storm and resulting ice and snow caused mayhem for many electric coops around the country. During the worst of the storm, nearly 30,000 coop customers in the Midwest were out of power, and eight Virginia coops reported about 43,000 meters of power lines out of commission. To prepare for more hard winter weather, statewide associations have requested mutual aid crews from the Southeast to send personnel and equipment north before ice storms begin. Read more here.
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Arkansas Grid Vandal Indicted
Posted on Dec 10, 2013
An Arkansas man accused of damaging electric coop facilities has been issued an eight-count indictment on charges relating to sabotage of high-voltage power lines and power stations earlier this year in several cities. Among them: a terrorist attack against a railroad carrier and destruction of energy facilities, including a 115,000-volt transmission line owned by First Electric Cooperative in Jacksonville, Arkansas. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the energy facility destruction charges, and life in prison if convicted on the terrorism charge. The Sutherland Coop Team initially...
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Kansas Coop Set for Largest Patronage Capital Return in Its History
Posted on Dec 10, 2013
Ark Valley Electric Cooperative (Ark Valley) will return more than $2 million in patronage capital to its members later this month. The return of patronage capital will represent Ark Valley’s largest retirement of owners’ equity since the cooperative was incorporated in 1939. Click here for more.
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USDA Unveils Energy Efficiency Program for Rural Coops
Posted on Dec 5, 2013
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide funding to rural coops and utilities to help boost energy efficiency improvements by commercial and residential customers. The Energy Efficiency and Loan Conservation Program plans to provide up to $250 million to rural coops which will, in turn, lend the money to customers to fund energy efficiency projects. To learn more, click here.
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Connecticut Coop and Local Town at Odds over Terminated Contract
Posted on Dec 4, 2013
Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC) and the town of Wallingford, Connecticut, are at odds after the town decided to terminate its agreement to purchase wholesale power from the coop. Wallingford town officials have approved a five-year contract to buy power from a competing source. The power purchase agreement between CMEEC and Wallingford had been in place since 1994. To read more about this story, click here.
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New Jersey City Joins Coop
Posted on Dec 4, 2013
Councilmembers of the city of Franklin, New Jersey, voted 3-2 to join the Passaic County Electric Cooperative, despite some reservations about not allowing the city’s citizens to make the decision themselves. Jersey Central Power & Light will continue to be responsible for the distribution and maintenance of its infrastructure, and the energy will be provided by a third-party supplier to be selected in the future. Read more here.
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