Delaware Coop Breaks Ground on New Solar Farm
Posted on Jan 29, 2013
The Delaware Electric Cooperative (Delaware Electric) has begun construction of a 20-acre, 16,000-solar-panel, solar energy farm in Sussex County, Delaware. It will be one of the largest solar farms in the state and is expected to cost $14 million. Delaware Electric hopes the project will be online by May 2013. Read more here.
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Court Rules that LCRA Did Not Violate Wholesale Agreements
Posted on Jan 28, 2013
The Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) was victorious last Thursday when a Travis County, Colorado, district judge held that LCRA had not violated power agreements with four of its wholesale electric customers because it had not breached a contract clause requiring that all of its customers be offered the same rate. The customers, which are utilities that sell electricity throughout Central Texas, accused LCRA of setting up a pricing structure that discriminated against them because they did not sign extensions of long-term wholesale power agreements with the authority. The judgment...
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Federal Court Rejects Rehearing on EPA Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Posted on Jan 28, 2013
Last Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a two-sentence order in which it declined to reopen a decision that struck down the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) sweeping Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. The decision striking down the rule was issued last August by a three-judge panel of the circuit court after the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and several electric cooperatives filed lawsuits, arguing that the rule treated different parts of the country in an arbitrary and unfair manner. The rule would have set new limits on...
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Tri-State to Challenge Jurisdiction of New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Over Rates
Posted on Jan 28, 2013
The board of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. recently voted to move forward with a legal challenge of the Public Regulation Commission’s (PRC) jurisdiction over rate increases for distribution coops in New Mexico. This move comes after the PRC determined in December 2012 that the distribution coops had raised valid concerns regarding the rate increases. The Taos News is covering this story.
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Kansas Coop Brings Attention to Private Transmission Considerations
Posted on Jan 24, 2013
Wheatland Electric Cooperative of Kansas is alerting others to potential concerns regarding the construction of private transmission lines to meet increased oil and gas exploration in the Mississippi Lime Play, which is an underground formation across southern and western Kansas and northern Oklahoma. If energy companies begin building their own electric transmission infrastructure, Wheatland warns that public utilities may have trouble building their own transmission lines across or near the private rights of way acquired by these companies. Problems may arise in reliability. If multiple...
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EPA Passes New Rule Related to Generator Use
Posted on Jan 23, 2013
On January 15, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new rule that will allow electric cooperatives to use small emergency generators for various purposes in order to ensure a stable flow of electricity at the local and regional level. Kirk Johnson, senior vice president of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), stated that the combined advocacy efforts of NRECA and member coops led to improved emergency demand-response provisions in the rule. However, Johnson also said that NRECA was disappointed that the rule will only permit the use of...
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Colorado Coop Looks to Expand Transmission Line Capacity
Posted on Jan 22, 2013
San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative plans to expand the capacity of a 32-mile transmission line from 69 kV to 115 kV. The project will improve reliability in the San Luis Valley by reducing the risk of outages. The Pueblo Chieftain has the full story.
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Hefty Rate Increase in Kentucky on the Horizon
Posted on Jan 17, 2013
Western Kentucky-based Big Rivers Electric Corporation has requested a wholesale rate hike from the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Under the proposal, residential customers would see up to a $24 per month increase on their power bills and large industrial consumers would face between a 15 and19 percent rate increase. The move comes in reaction to Big Rivers’ largest customer, an aluminum smelter, terminating its power purchase agreement with the coop. Read the full story here.
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Vermont Coop Among Opponents to Proposed Wind Moratorium
Posted on Jan 17, 2013
Washington Electric Cooperative is among a long list of renewable energy supporters opposing a recent state legislative proposal to ban for three years the development of wind generation projects with a capacity greater than 500 kW. Legislators proposed the bill in reaction to environmental and aesthetic concerns raised by constituents. However, opponents say the move contradicts efforts to increase renewable energy in the state. Click here for more.
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Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to Consider Alternative Transmission Project
Posted on Jan 17, 2013
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association plans to consider an alternative route for its planned transmission project to provide new infrastructure for its electric system. Tri-State’s decision is in response to Xcel Energy’s indication that it will likely withdraw from the previously proposed joint transmission project. The project will help provide reliable power to San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative, which serves Colorado. Read more here.
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Illinois G&T Coop Receives Long-Term Rating of A- for Senior Secured Bonds
Posted on Jan 15, 2013
Prairie Power, Inc. (PPI) recently received a long-term rating of A- with a stable outlook by Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) for all of its $471.3 million of senior secured debt as of November 1, 2012. PPI is an electric generation and transmission coop that serves central Illinois. This is KBRA’s first G&T coop rating and marks its entry into this market. Read more here.
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Kroll Bond Rating Agency Issues Updated Report on Fracking
Posted on Jan 15, 2013
Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) has issued an update to its report on the state and local credit risks of high-volume hydraulic fracking of the Marcellus and Utica Shale Basins, located below New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The report, available here, discusses the estimated economic impact from the recovery of these fossil fuel resources. These resources are so large that many economists predict they could materially reduce unemployment and add to the nation’s GDP for decades, as well as pose environmental and regulatory risks. Click here for the full report.
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Coop Seeks Expedited Ruling to Prevent Tribal Takeover
Posted on Jan 14, 2013
After filing an amended complaint on December 14, the Northern Rio Arriba Electric Cooperative is asking a federal judge for an expedited ruling to prevent a New Mexico tribal authority from potentially taking ownership of its electric distribution system on a Northern New Mexico Indian reservation as early as next month. The coop is also seeking an order that would compel the Jicarilla Apache Nation to enter into mandatory binding arbitration. The Nation, which consumes 48 percent of the coop’s electrical load, is upset with the electric service it has been receiving and plans to...
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Michigan Agency Extends Permit for Installation of Coal Plant
Posted on Jan 14, 2013
A coalition of Michigan electric utilities, which includes Cherryland Electric Cooperative, recently received an extended permit from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for the construction of a contested coal plant project However, utility officials, including those representing Cadillac-based Wolverine Power Cooperative, have not announced if they intend to follow through with construction. To read more about the potential plant, click here.
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