NRECA and EPA Spar over Review of Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Posted on Jun 11, 2013
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plea for further review of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which was thrown out by an appeals court. The rule’s purpose was to slash interstate emissions from power plants under federal “good neighbor” provisions that allow the EPA to limit pollution generated from upwind states that prevents downwind states from meeting national clean air standards. Click here for more on this story.
Continue Reading
House Subcommittee Advances Coal Ash Bill
Posted on Jun 11, 2013
The House Subcommittee on Environment and the Economy voted June 6 to advance a new version of the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013, which sets up a state-run program to regulate coal ash, a common byproduct of coal-based power plants. The Act also prevents the Environmental Protection Agency from classifying coal ash as a hazardous waste and subjecting it for the first time to federal standards for the handling and disposal of hazardous wastes. Electric coops reportedly support the measure, which is based in part on a bill that the House passed in October 2011. Click here...
Continue Reading
EPA Agrees to Reconsider Environmental Requirements for Apache Generating Station
Posted on Jun 11, 2013
Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, the owner of the Apache Generating Station, recently received the good news that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reconsidering requirements that would have resulted in costly upgrades. The coop had requested that the EPA consider the Apache Generating Station’s unique situation to ensure that the coop is able to provide affordable power to its members while meeting its environmental obligations. This story is being covered by the Sierra Vista Herald.
Continue Reading
House Subcommittee Rejects Administration’s RUS Limitations
Posted on Jun 6, 2013
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 on how RUS loans may be used. The bill will move to the House Appropriations Committee for further discussion. Click here for more information.
Continue Reading
Colorado Governor Signs Bill Requiring More Renewables
Posted on Jun 6, 2013
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 renewable projects. The Denver Business Journal has more.
Continue Reading
Two G&T Coops Seek Change in Rail Shipping Regulations
Posted on Jun 6, 2013
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 facility is within 30 miles of an interchange where switching regularly occurs. One shippers group has suggested that the proposal could save up to $1.2 billion a year. AECC advocates have argued that reciprocal...
Continue Reading
NRECA Challenges FERC Regulation Under Order 1000
Posted on Jun 4, 2013
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is appealing three provisions of a major transmission planning and cost allocation rule issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). According to legal briefs filed by the NRECA, FERC’s Order 1000 violates the Federal Power Act in terms of reciprocity, cost allocation and public policy requirements involving electric coops. Prior to Order 1000, coops could meet reciprocal obligations by providing open access service to the investor-owned utilities from which they receive transmission service. However, Order 1000...
Continue Reading
D.C. Circuit Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Hear Coop’s Appeal
Posted on May 29, 2013
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled earlier this week that it does not have jurisdiction to hear Sunflower Electric Power Corporation’s appeal of a district court ruling related to the failure of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prepare an environmental impact statement in connection with Sunflower’s expansion of a coal-fired power plant in Kansas. The claim was originally brought against the USDA by the Sierra Club in 2007. The district court remanded the matter to the Rural Utilities Service in 2011, but Sunflower appealed, claiming that the...
Continue Reading
North Carolina Coop Begins Hearings on Transmission Line Route
Posted on May 29, 2013
This week Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation (REMC) began hearings regarding the value of land in the Box Creek Wilderness area near Union Mills, North Carolina. REMC began condemnation proceedings in January in order to obtain a transmission line easement to connect various substations. The transmission line addition will provide supplemental transmission capacity to 5,000 residents in an area set to overload current transmission capacity by 2014. Click here to learn more.
Continue Reading
Appeals Court Rejects Challenges to Georgia Nuclear Power Plant Expansion
Posted on May 29, 2013
On May 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the petition of several environmental groups to delay the permitting of two new units at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia. The petitioners sought to delay the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s grant of combined construction and operating licenses to ensure that the units’ environmental statement reflected recommendations made by an NRC-commissioned task force formed after the March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. The court of appeals found “no merit” in any of...
Continue Reading
NRECA International to Form New Electric Utility in Haiti
Posted on May 28, 2013
The United States Agency for International Development awarded NRECA International Ltd. a $24 million contract to form a new electric utility in Haiti under the Haiti Pilot Project for Sustainable Electricity Distribution. The proposed utility would be the only utility in Haiti providing continuous power, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about this project, and the plant that would power it, click here.
Continue Reading
Agriculture Secretary Announces Award of Grants in 11 States
Posted on May 23, 2013
Several coops in 11 states have received funding from the USDA Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program. This round of funding highlights USDA’s continued focus on carrying out its mission to strengthen the rural economy. The coops that received funding include East Mississippi Electric Power Association, Western Illinois Electrical Coop., Three Notch Electric Membership Corporation and Central Iowa Power Cooperative. For a complete list and to learn how this money will be used by the organizations, click here.
Continue Reading
Coop President Testifies on Cyber Security
Posted on May 23, 2013
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 issue, click here.
Continue Reading
South Carolina Utility Signs Deal with South Carolina Coop
Posted on May 21, 2013
South Carolina’s Santee Cooper has reached an agreement with Central Electric Power Cooperative (CEPC) to provide electricity to 20 independent electric coops for the next 45 years. CEPC buys power and helps deliver it for 20 smaller electric companies in South Carolina. CEPC also has deals with Duke Energy Carolinas and South Carolina Electric and Gas. Click here to read more.
Continue Reading
Subscribe
