Senate Agriculture Committee Approves RESPA
Posted on Apr 30, 2012
The Rural Energy Savings Program Act (RESPA), sometimes referred to as the Conrad-Lugar Amendment, includes four policy improvements designed to help rural families, farms and small businesses save money on their energy bills. Generally, the proposed legislation: (1) authorizes coops to provide low-interest loans to members for energy efficiency improvements; (2) changes the definition of “biomass manufacturing” as it relates to the Biorefinery Assistance Program; (3) streamlines rules and provisions of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program; and (4) eliminates the requirement under the Rural...
Continue Reading
North Dakota Approves Minnkota Line Route
Posted on Apr 26, 2012
The North Dakota Public Service Commission approved a final route for the state’s largest transmission line project in decades. Minnkota Power Cooperative will construct the 250-mile line from Center, North Dakota, to Grand Forks. The project is estimated to cost approximately $312 million. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2013. Click here for the full story.
Continue Reading
House Bill Offers Coop Lenders Relief from Dodd-Frank
Posted on Apr 26, 2012
The Small Business Credit Availability Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives this week and moves on to the Senate. The bill would revise the Dodd-Frank Act to exempt smaller banks, including those offering financing to rural coops, from certain provisions of the major regulatory reform law. With less red tape and new costs to deal with, smaller banks and similar financial institutions should be able to extend more loans and create jobs. Read more here.
Continue Reading
Kansas Coop Customers See Green for Being Green
Posted on Apr 26, 2012
The Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative is kicking off a program to encourage its customers to save power during the summer peak season. The Peak Savers Program will pay customers $1 for every kilowatt-hour saved during peak hours between July and August. The coop tested this program with a small group last year, but more than 1,000 customers are expected to participate this summer. Click here for more.
Continue Reading
Five New Copper Theft Bills Signed Into Law
Posted on Apr 23, 2012
Governors in Georgia, West Virginia, Iowa, Washington and Kentucky have signed copper theft bills into law. The Washington bill was partially vetoed by Gov. Christine Gregoire who objected to the creation of a 24-member task force to study the issue of metal theft and make recommendations to the legislature. Gov. Gregoire did, however, approve the parts of the bill that make it first-degree theft to take metal wire from a utility, including a “consumer-owned utility,” if the resulting property damage is at least $5,000. The new Georgia law prohibits cash payments for these materials, and...
Continue Reading
New York Regulator Approves Low-Cost Power Incentive Deal for Aerospace Company
Posted on Apr 23, 2012
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees has approved an allocation of 2,300 kilowatts of low-cost power for the Amphenol Aerospace Operations of Sidney, New York. The $20 million incentive package to Amphenol is intended to keep the company in Sidney and save nearly 1,000 jobs. The power allocation request was submitted to NYPA by the Delaware County Electric Cooperative on behalf of Amphenol and will be contingent upon service interconnection between the coop and the Company. Click here for the full story.
Continue Reading
Colorado Coop Sues EPA Over New Emissions Standards
Posted on Apr 23, 2012
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. has filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new mercury and air-toxics emissions standards for coal-fired power plants. The coop, Colorado’s second-largest power utility, serves some 1.5 million customers in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Nebraska. Tri-State claims the EPA standards, which took effect Monday, will drive up electricity costs because of expensive technology needed to meet the rules. Several other entities, including...
Continue Reading
Electric Coops Get High Marks from Utility Customers in Annual Poll
Posted on Apr 23, 2012
Electric cooperatives continue to receive high marks from utility customers, according to the latest reading of the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Electric cooperatives collectively earned a score of 81 while investor-owned and municipal utilities each received a score of 76. Natural gas distributor Atmos Energy and gas-and-electric supplier Sempra Energy were the two top-ranking energy utilities. Click here for more.
Continue Reading
Massachusetts Coop Awards Contract for Solar Projects
Posted on Apr 20, 2012
Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative, a Massachusetts coop, awarded contracts to Broadway Electrical Company, Inc. for 44 solar projects totaling 50 MW. The projects, backed by Rockland Capital, will cost roughly $200 million to complete. A number of obstacles remain, and the interconnection of at least some of the projects will have to be approved by Boston utility NStar. The Cape Cod Times is following this story.
Continue Reading
Investment Fund Provides New Financing for Coal Plant in Georgia
Posted on Apr 20, 2012
Power4Georgians, a group of electric cooperatives, signed a letter of intent with Taylor Energy Fund LLC to provide financing for a 40% stake in Plant Washington, an 850-MW, coal-fired facility, after Cobb EMC withdrew from the project early this year. The financing comes at a key time in the project development process. Power4Georgians recently reached an agreement with environmental groups over challenges related to Plant Washington’s air permit. Power4Georgians will still need to obtain additional financing to begin construction. The Telegraph has the full story.
Continue Reading
Colorado Transmission Line Re-Energized
Posted on Apr 19, 2012
Mountain View Electric Association’s Big Sandy-Lincoln-Midway transmission line is back online after upgrades were made to improve resilience against storm damage. The improvements were completed in time to serve the irrigation loads expected along the eastern and southern Colorado power path. Read more here.
Continue Reading
Mississippi Coop Contemplates Nuclear Purchase
Posted on Apr 19, 2012
The South Mississippi Electric Power Association may enter a power purchase agreement and opt for a minority ownership share in the 2,200-MW expansion of the Virgil C. Summer Nuclear Generating Station in South Carolina. Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned utility, wants to sell a portion of its interest in the project in response to forecasts of reduced capacity needs in the future. The two-unit project is scheduled to be operational in 2017 and 2018. Click here for more.
Continue Reading
Oregon Coop Copes with Disasters; FEMA Helps
Posted on Apr 17, 2012
West Oregon Electric Cooperative, Inc., with help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has found a way to keep the lights on through storms. FEMA’s hazard mitigation funds have helped the coop repair storm-related transmission line damage and install new underground lines. As nonprofit agencies providing essential services, coops are eligible for federal disaster assistance during a presidentially declared disaster. For more information on how to benefit from these funds, read the article here.
Continue Reading
New Mexico Coop to Develop 1.5 MW Solar Field
Posted on Apr 17, 2012
Kit Carson Electric Cooperative recently broke ground on a project to build a 1.5-MW solar field, along with developer Standard Solar, in north-central New Mexico. The coop plans to buy solar output from the new facility under a 25-year agreement. When the solar field comes online, it is expected that every business and residence in that part of New Mexico will be entirely solar-powered. Continue reading here.
Continue Reading
Subscribe
