Landowners File Class Action Complaint Against Coop
Posted on Dec 5, 2011
Several Missouri landowners have filed a class action complaint against Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative, Sho-Me Technologies, Kamo Electric Cooperative and K-PowerNet.. The plaintiffs claim that the coops and other defendants installed or used more than 2,000 miles of fiber-optic cable throughout the state on plaintiffs’ land that is subject to a limited electric-utility easement. Click here to see the complaint (CORRECTED LINK).
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Two Coops Agree to Develop Solar Project
Posted on Dec 5, 2011
New Mexico-based PPC Solar announced that Kit Carson Electric Cooperative has conditionally approved an agreement under which PPC Solar will construct a 1.5-MW solar array in Taos County, New Mexico. The project would be the largest solar installation in the county and reportedly would generate an estimated 2,985,859 kWh of solar power in the first year of operation. The Solar Industry Magazine has more here.
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Countersuit Against New Mexico Coop Moves Forward
Posted on Dec 5, 2011
A scheduling plan for a countersuit against Socorro Electric Cooperative has been drafted, and District Court Judge Albert J. Mitchell Jr. has granted a 30-day stay on the coop’s motion to delay paying attorneys’ fees. Judge Mitchell said he wanted to speed up the countersuit, which has been pending since the judge ruled against Socorro Electric in the original case in May. The parties said they were willing to mediate, but neither side has expressed optimism that their issues could be resolved. The El Defensor Chieftain has more.
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Coop Employers Must Keep Drivers’ Hands Off Cell Phones
Posted on Dec 5, 2011
Under a new federal rule, the drivers of vehicles owned by electric cooperatives and other utilities may not use hand held cell phones while they drive. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration turned down a request by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association to exempt electric coops from its mobile phone rule by classifying them and other utilities as “emergency services.” Click here to learn more about the new rule.
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Coop Members Demand More Information About Geothermal Program
Posted on Dec 5, 2011
Alaska-based Naknek Electric Association filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors in September 2010. The coop’s financial woes were due, in large part, to complications with a geothermal energy program. Shortly after Naknek Electric filed a disclosure statement and reorganization plan with the bankruptcy court, a committee representing the interests of Naknek Electric members filed a six-page objection to the coop’s disclosure statement. The committee raised concerns about the possibility of the coop continuing with its geothermal drilling project and requested more information...
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Carroll Electric Cooperative Amends Bylaws to Prohibit Class Action Suits by Members
Posted on Nov 28, 2011
Carroll Electric Cooperative Corporation (CECC) recently amended its bylaws to prohibit class action litigation against it by its members; the amended bylaws require members to bring disputes to arbitration. CECC’s board approved these amendments while the merits of a complaint initiated by Gordon Watkins and Dane Schumacher on behalf of coop members is being considered by the Arkansas Public Service Commission. It is unclear whether the bylaws as amended would apply to the foregoing litigation since the class for such litigation has not yet been certified. Carroll County News has...
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Southern Montana Electric to Continue Receiving Power During Restructuring
Posted on Nov 23, 2011
Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative, which filed for bankruptcy protection in October, will continue receiving power from its suppliers. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ralph Kirscher approved agreements that will keep power flowing to the Billings-based coop. NorthWestern Energy, PPL EnergyPlus, and the Western Area Power Administration have all reached agreements with SME allowing the coop to acquire power for another month. Click here to read more details about the agreements.
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Coops Can Use GPS Technology to Fight Copper Theft
Posted on Nov 23, 2011
Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative recently used a global positioning device to fight copper theft. Deputies in Pasco County, Florida used a global positioning device to find a roll of copper that was stolen from the coop’s substation. Deputies tracked the culprits to a nearby home using a $420 GPS unit that was hidden in the $320 copper roll. The St. Petersburg Times has more.
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Georgia Coop Moves Forward with New Plant
Posted on Nov 23, 2011
The Georgia Environmental Protection Division has re-issued a final air permit to Power4Georgians, an Electric coop consortium, for the coop’s 850-megawatt, supercritical coal-fired Plant. The planned $2.1 billion coal-fired power station is expected to take approximately four years to complete and will be built near Sandersville, Georgia. PennEnergy.com has the full story.
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Coop to Receive $63 Million in Reparations from Railway
Posted on Nov 23, 2011
Arizona Electric Power Cooperative won an estimated $63 million in rate reductions and reparations Tuesday after the US Surface Transportation Board found that BNSF Railway and Union Pacific overcharged the coop for coal shipments. The ruling by the STB, which is the regulatory agency charged with resolving freight railroad disputes, is a rare victory for coops who have watched coal transportation rates nearly double since 2006. To read more about the decision, click here.
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Sierra Club and Wisconsin Coop in Settlement Talks
Posted on Nov 21, 2011
The Sierra Club announced that it is in the process of negotiating a settlement with Dairyland Power Cooperative. The environmental group sued the coop last year, alleging that the coop failed to install the required pollution controls on its two coal-fired plants in Alma when it made upgrades to the plants from 1993-2009. To read more about the lawsuit and potential settlement agreement, click here.
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North Dakota Coal Regulation Controversy Continues
Posted on Nov 21, 2011
Two North Dakota coops and environmental groups have presented widely divergent estimates of the cost to retrofit two coal-powered plants under new proposed federal pollution rules. According to the analysis commissioned by the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association, Minnkota Power Cooperative consumers would face a 10.3 percent rate increase, and Basin Electric Power Cooperative consumers would face a 0.7 percent rate increase. The coops assert that adopting the proposed regulations could drive up rates by 20 to 30 percent. Businessweek has the full story.
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Coops Must Obtain Additional Permits to Spray Pesticides and Herbicides Under New EPA Regulations
Posted on Nov 18, 2011
With legislative efforts to reevaluate the regulations making little progress in Congress, the new EPA regulations went into effect on November 1. These regulations require permits in addition to those already required under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. According to an NRECA spokesperson, coops will continue to seek a legislative solution. Electric Co-op Today is covering this story.
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Legal Challenge of Clean Water Act Permit for Arkansas Coal Plant Moves Forward
Posted on Nov 18, 2011
On November 16, a federal judge ruled that several environmental organizations had standing to challenge the issuance of a Clean Water Act permit to the John W. Turk Power Plant under construction in southwestern Arkansas. The judge also ruled that even though construction of the coal plant is nearly complete, the environmentalist’s challenge is not moot. This is the most recent decision relating to the various legal challenges facing the John W. Turk Power Plant, which is co-owned by Southwest Electric Power Co. and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation. Law360 has the full story...
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