Basin Electric Opens First Cogeneration Plant
Posted on Aug 9, 2012
Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Deer Creek Station cogeneration plant began commercial operations on August 1. The 300-MW facility, located in eastern South Dakota, is Basin Electric’s first cogeneration plant. Read more on the story here.
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Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation Seeks Rate Increase
Posted on Aug 9, 2012
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation has submitted a request to the Arkansas Public Service Commission to increase its wholesale rates by five percent to cover the costs of two new power plants and other costs (which would total $33.4 million). If approved, the new wholesale rate would increase an average customer’s electric bill by $1.50 per month. Click here for additional details.
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Agriculture Secretary Announces REDLG Funding Awards
Posted on Aug 6, 2012
Through the USDA’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program (REDLG), the Department of Agriculture is funding projects in 12 states, including projects undertaken by a number of coops. For a list of projects, see the USDA’s press release.
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Alaskan Coop Closes Deal with CFC for $100 Million Facility
Posted on Aug 6, 2012
Chugach Electric Association, an Anchorage, Alaska-based coop, closed an “Amend and Extend” syndicated transaction with the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC). The coop’s CFO, Mike Cunningham, spoke highly of the experience with CFC stating that “[t]his facility provided us with low-priced, short-term financing for our power plant construction.” See the CFC press release for more on this story.
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Coops to Purchase Electricity from Pennsylvania’s Largest Wind Farm
Posted on Jul 31, 2012
Old Dominion Electric Cooperative and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative will purchase electricity produced from the future Mehoopany Wind Farm, a 141-MW wind generation project located near Scranton, Pennsylvania. The National Renewables Cooperative Organization assisted the coops with the long-term power purchase agreements. BP Wind Energy and Sempra U.S. Gas & Power have partnered to construct the $250 million wind farm. Read more here.
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Pennsylvania Coop to Use $40 Million in Loans for Grid Upgrades
Posted on Jul 31, 2012
The Adams Electric Cooperative, which serves counties in southeastern Pennsylvania, plans to use $40 million in low-interest loans recently awarded from the federal government to build and improve 200 miles of distribution line and to upgrade several substations. A portion of the money will also go to smart grid projects, such as the installation of automated switches that will allow the cooperative to shift electricity when there is an interruption of service. The loan money is part of $287 million in loan guarantees being provided through the Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities...
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New Mexico Coop to Add 18 MW of Wind Power This Year
Posted on Jul 27, 2012
Farmers’ Electric Cooperative recently announced that it plans to buy the output from Broadview Energy’s wind project in Curry County, New Mexico. The coop plans to make the necessary filing with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission by month’s end. The 18 MW of wind power is part of Broadview Energy’s plan to build projects to supply as much as 500 MW of wind power in eastern New Mexico and western Texas. See Electric Co-op Today for the full story.
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Montana Seeks Federal Assistance for Wildfire Affecting Coop
Posted on Jul 27, 2012
The governor of Montana recently requested that the area affected by the Ash Creek Fire be declared a Presidential Disaster Area. Tongue River Electric Cooperative suffered the most with $1.6 million in damages to its infrastructure. KTVQ has more on this story.
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Indiana Coop Continues Presence in Biomass Arena
Posted on Jul 26, 2012
Indianapolis-based Wabash Valley Power Association has eight landfill gas plant sites in Indiana and is looking to expand project development into neighboring states. Wabash generates roughly 44 MW of energy, which is the result of a $52 million investment in Wabash’s landfill gas-to-energy program. Click here for more.
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Syndicated Transaction First of its Kind
Posted on Jul 26, 2012
The National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) along with three other financial institutions arranged a $100 million syndicated transaction for Georgia-based Cobb Electric Membership Corporation (Cobb EMC). This is the first syndication arranged by the CFC for a distribution coop and will replace Cobb EMC’s multiple lines of credit with local banks. Click here for the full story.
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Federal Entities Face Monetary Penalties for Reliability Standards Violations
Posted on Jul 26, 2012
As reported by Sutherland attorneys in a July 24 Legal Alert, federal entities, such as power marketing administrations, may be assessed monetary penalties for violating the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Reliability Standards. Read more about FERC’s groundbreaking order here.
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CFTC Exempts Electric Cooperatives from Dodd-Frank Clearing Requirements
Posted on Jul 25, 2012
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved a final rule exempting electric cooperatives from mandatory clearing requirements if they use swaps to hedge or mitigate commercial risk. This rule would allow coops to avoid the additional costs of the clearance organization administering these transactions. Click here for additional details.
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Iowa Coop to Receive $4.7 Million in Disaster Aid
Posted on Jul 25, 2012
Hawkeye Rural Electric Cooperative has been awarded $4.7 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Hawkeye is proposing to repair 142.7 miles of overhead electrical distribution lines damaged by storms, tornadoes and heavy rains that hit the state in 2008. Read more here.
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Government Push for Grid Upgrades Receives Pushback from Coops
Posted on Jul 19, 2012
Several Montana-based coops called on the Secretary of the Department of Energy to withdraw a federal plan to upgrade portions of the nation’s power grid. The plan aims to move more renewable energy from rural areas like Montana to load centers like those found in California. The coops fear that the costs to modernize the grid will unfairly fall to rural communities, resulting in significant increases in transmission rates. The Great Falls Tribune has more.
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