Montana Coop to Participate in Battery Test
Posted on Mar 5, 2013
Flathead Electric Cooperative, Inc.’s (Flathead Electric) Kalispell, Montana, campus will be the first test site for the Zinc Air Inc. (Zinc Air) battery storage technology. The tests are expected to last about six months and will allow Zinc Air and Flathead Electric to assess applications for both utility and end-user benefits, such as peak demand reduction and load shifting. Click here for more.
Continue Reading
Judge Bars Documents in Power Plant Case Despite Coop’s Objections
Posted on Mar 5, 2013
Despite objections by American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP), a federal judge has ruled that emails between AMP and contractor Bechtel Corporation (Bechtel) are subject to the attorney-client privilege, thereby barring the mistakenly disclosed documents from a lawsuit. AMP is suing Maryland-based Bechtel over a $1 billion unexpected increase in estimated power plant construction costs. An in-camera review of the emails convinced the court that “[t]here is enough in the circumstances surrounding the communications to support the inference that the employees were aware the information was...
Continue Reading
Copper Theft Continues to Impact Coops
Posted on Mar 4, 2013
Ongoing international demand for copper could result in another rise in copper prices, followed by a rise in copper theft, according to Maurice Martin, a program manager at NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network. Coops like Missouri-based N.W. Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. have tried multiple ways to thwart copper theft. For example, Northwest long ago switched to tin-coated copper. The coop is now moving to copper-clad products and is putting up signs in substations alerting would-be thieves that the material has no scrap value. In addition, 48 states have metal theft laws. To read...
Continue Reading
Sequestration to Cause CREBs Payments to be Reduced by 8.7%
Posted on Mar 4, 2013
The Office of Management and Budget has issued its Report to the Congress on the budget sequestration for federal fiscal year 2013 required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Interest subsidy payments for New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (New CREBs) are among the federal programs impacted by sequestration. According to IRS guidance, issuers of qualified tax credit bonds should continue to request reimbursement for their interest payments on Form 8038-CP in accordance with the instructions for that form, but...
Continue Reading
Sequestration to Cause CREBs Payments to be Reduced by 8.7%
Posted on Mar 4, 2013
The Office of Management and Budget has issued its Report to the Congress on the budget sequestration for federal fiscal year 2013 required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Interest subsidy payments for New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (New CREBs) are among the federal programs impacted by sequestration. According to IRS guidance, issuers of qualified tax credit bonds should continue to request reimbursement for their interest payments on Form 8038-CP in accordance with the instructions for that form, but...
Continue Reading
Copper Theft Continues to Impact Coops
Posted on Mar 4, 2013
Ongoing international demand for copper could result in another rise in copper prices, followed by a rise in copper theft, according to Maurice Martin, a program manager at NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network. Coops like Missouri-based N.W. Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. have tried multiple ways to thwart copper theft. For example, Northwest long ago switched to tin-coated copper. The coop is now moving to copper-clad products and is putting up signs in substations alerting would-be thieves that the material has no scrap value. In addition, 48 states have metal theft laws. To read...
Continue Reading
Cobb EMC to Purchase Power from New Solar Project
Posted on Mar 1, 2013
Cobb Electric Membership Corporation has entered into a 25-year power purchase agreement with Dominion to purchase power from a solar project near Augusta, Georgia. Dominion recently acquired the development project, which will produce approximately 7.7 megawatts using photovoltaic technology. The project is expected to begin commercial operations on December 1. 2013. To read more, click here.
Continue Reading
Maryland PSC Raises Reliability Standards in Wake of Storm
Posted on Feb 28, 2013
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) will require utilities to file plans by May 31 outlining improved response efforts after severe storms. The order stems from last year’s “derecho” storm during which almost one million customers lost power. The PSC will not impose penalties on any utility based on its reaction to the 2012 storm. For the full story, click here.
Continue Reading
Two Wind Coops Take Top Honors
Posted on Feb 28, 2013
East River Electric Power Cooperative of South Dakota and Golden Valley Electric Association of Alaska took home top honors when a panel of industry experts selected the two coops as the Department of Energy’s 2012 Wind Cooperatives of the Year. See the Energy Department’s press release to learn more about the coops’ wind energy achievements and future plans.
Continue Reading
North Dakota Coop Sends Carbon Dioxide Packing
Posted on Feb 28, 2013
Basin Electric Power Cooperative recently shipped a milestone amount of carbon dioxide to Canadian oil fields for use in forcing oil to the surface. The coop’s Great Plains Synfuels Plant has been capturing carbon dioxide since 2000 and just sent the 25 millionth metric ton to southern Saskatchewan. Click here for more information.
Continue Reading
New DOE Solar Funding Available to Cooperatives
Posted on Feb 27, 2013
Cooperatives are eligible for two funding opportunities from the Department of Energy designed to make solar energy more competitive with other forms of energy. The programs are part of DOE’s SunShot Initiative and will each provide up to $12 million for administrative and physical costs associated with installation, interconnection and efficiency. To read more about these funding programs, click here.
Continue Reading
Former Employee Steals Funds from Florida Coop
Posted on Feb 27, 2013
Three men have been charged with grand theft after allegedly defrauding Glades Electric Cooperative of Glades County, Florida, out of $211,419 between 2008 and 2011. One of the three arrested used his employment at the coop to orchestrate the theft. For more information, click here.
Continue Reading
Proposed Kentucky Legislation Would Force Coop Merger
Posted on Feb 22, 2013
A proposed Kentucky legislative bill would force Big Rivers Electric Corporation (Big Rivers) and East Kentucky Power Cooperative to merge “as quickly as can be reasonably and economically accomplished.” House Bill 423 is intended to address the significant rate hike Big Rivers customers may face due to the coop’s impending loss of approximately 70 percent of its power sales to two aluminum smelters. As The Gleaner reports, the bill is highly controversial among industry participants and lawmakers.
Continue Reading
PSC Ends Management Review of Kentucky Coop
Posted on Feb 20, 2013
On February 19, the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) announced that it had ended its management review of East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC). The PSC commended EKPC for its efforts to implement recommendations made an outside consulting group’s management audit in 2010. Read more here.
Continue Reading
Subscribe
