Colorado Coop Closes on Syndicated Line of Credit
Posted on Jan 14, 2013
Brighton-based United Power, Inc. (UPI), which is a 100-percent National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) borrower, has closed on a $30 million syndicated line of credit arranged by CFC. The three-year unsecured line of credit replaces an existing perpetual line, and it is the second line of credit arranged by CFC for an electric distribution coop. The first line of credit was for Marietta, Georgia-based Cobb EMC in June 2012. Click here for more on this story.
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Maryland PSC Calls for Smart Metering Options
Posted on Jan 10, 2013
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) will require Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO), among other electricity providers, to provide customers with additional smart metering options. Customers cited health-related concerns about certain smart metering technology and now will have the option of opting out of smart meter installations for an increased price. Click here for more.
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Pennsylvania Wind Farm Begins Commercial Operation
Posted on Jan 9, 2013
A wind farm jointly owned by Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC and BP Wind Energy has been placed in full commercial operation. The 141-MW wind farm, located in Mehoopany, Pennsylvania, will provide power to Old Dominion Electric Cooperative and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative. The coops will each purchase the output of the facility under long-term power purchase agreements. To read more, click here.
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FERC Notes Coop Smart Grid Growth
Posted on Jan 8, 2013
The use of smart grid technologies by coops is being recognized on a national level. A report issued in December 2012 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stated that coops are still national leaders in implementing advanced metering. According to the FERC report, advanced metering use among coops increased from 16.4 percent in 2008 to 24.7 percent in 2010 to 30.9 percent in 2012. The coop numbers were consistently higher than similar statistics for investor-owned utilities, municipal systems, political subdivisions, and state and local utilities. These results came from a...
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Finnish Company to Supply Engines to Gas Plant in Texas
Posted on Jan 8, 2013
Finnish power company Wärtsilä has won a deal to supply 12 engines for a new 225-MW gas plant, the South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) Red Gate power plant, to be located in Hidalgo County, Texas. This plant is scheduled to be operational by summer 2014. Wärtsilä has supplied components to three other power plants in Texas, including a 200-MW facility at Pearsall, Texas, which is also owned and operated by STEC. Read more here.
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NRECA Speaks Out Against EPA Turbine Plan
Posted on Jan 8, 2013
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to back off on its proposed revisions to New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for stationary gas turbines and stationary combustion turbines. According to the NRECA, the revisions are flawed because the revised standards would be made retroactive to February 2005 and would impose too many reconstruction requirements on existing structures, thus increasing the costs of combustion turbine facilities. The proposed revisions seek to adopt a radically narrow definition of a...
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Louisiana Utility Honors Patronage Capital Credits
Posted on Jan 7, 2013
Shreveport-based Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO), which completed the purchase of Valley Electric Membership Corporation (Valley) in October 2010, recently mailed out a second round of refund payments to members of the former coop. Valley’s board of directors pledged to honor Valley’s estimated $25 million in patronage capital credits owed to its members. These credits are accumulated by coop members as their share of the coop’s earnings. Click here for the full story.
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AECC to Purchase Wind Power
Posted on Jan 4, 2013
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase up to 51 MW of power from a portion of the Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm located in Kansas. This agreement is AECC’s first purchase of wind power from an outside company. Although AECC has not disclosed the specific financial terms, an AECC representative described the deal as being both economic and a good fit for AECC’s resource mix. The Southwest Times Record has the full story.
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SMECO Looks to Expand Solar
Posted on Jan 3, 2013
A 5.5-MW solar farm developed by Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) has proved worthwhile, and the coop is now looking to build a second solar facility. SMECO’s efforts will help it satisfy a Maryland state law, which requires utilities to generate 20 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2022, with two percent of that portion coming from solar energy produced in Maryland. SMECO’s first solar farm began generating electricity in late November. Southern Maryland Newspapers Online has the details.
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Alaskan Gas Shortages Call for Conservation
Posted on Jan 3, 2013
Due to anticipated natural gas shortages in the Cook Inlet area of Alaska, local coops, utilities and regional governments are banding together to raise public awareness about the problem and to promote demand-side conservation efforts. Chugach Electric Association, Homer Electric Association and Matanuska Electric Association are three coops involved in the Energy Watch effort. Click here for more information.
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New Reliability Compliance Opportunities in 2013
Posted on Jan 2, 2013
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) closed out 2012 with several orders affecting reliability compliance. FERC adopted a revised definition of the “bulk electric system,” authorized FERC access to e-Tags used to schedule power transmission, and affirmed the authority of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to assess monetary penalties against federally owned utilities. Industry participants should use the New Year as an opportunity to review facilities, information-sharing processes and contracts to help ensure compliance with these new reliability...
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Vermont’s Second Largest Utility Seeks Moratorium on Renewable Energy Projects
Posted on Jan 2, 2013
The board of directors of Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) has approved a resolution calling for a two-year moratorium on renewable energy projects following a large controversial wind project. VEC has several large wind projects in its portfolio, including the Lowell wind project, which has been the source of some complaints because of the noise created by the wind turbines. Click here for the full story.
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New Power Plant Begins Commercial Operation in Arkansas
Posted on Dec 26, 2012
The 600-MW John W. Turk Jr. Power Plant, the nation’s first ultra-supercritical, coal-fired facility, began commercial operation this month after four years of construction and numerous legal challenges. The co-owners, including Southwestern Electric Power Company, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation and East Texas Electric Cooperative, herald the plant as a shining example of advances in coal technology that result in fewer emissions. Reuters has more on this story.
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Commission Suspends Planned Rate Increase for New Mexico Electric Coops
Posted on Dec 26, 2012
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has suspended a planned rate increase for several New Mexico electric cooperatives that are part of the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Tri-State). Tri-State will likely file suit protesting the decision, arguing that the New Mexico PRC has no jurisdiction over interstate wholesale power sales. During the pendency of the decision, Tri-State can file for an emergency rate increase. Tri-State’s rate increase was set to take effect January 1, 2013. Read more here.
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