Coop Membership is Expanding Faster Than Overall Population Growth
Posted on Apr 5, 2011
With most of the nation’s population growth occurring in the western and southern states, coops that serve suburban and other neighboring areas have seen significant increases in the number of customers in their service areas. This rate of growth is expected to continue so long as population centers in the south and west continue to grow at rates in excess of the national population growth rate. Electric Co-op Today is following this story.
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Rule Requiring Installation of Pollution Controls on Back-up Generators Would Cost Iowa Cooperatives Big Money
Posted on Apr 4, 2011
The CEO of North Iowa Municipal Electric Cooperative objected to the rule because coop’s members would have to pay more than $5 million to install catalyst technology on back-up units that run for a yearly average of 11 hours each. Based on cost-benefit concerns like these, Governor Branstad vetoed the state rule. Radio Iowa has the full story.
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Members of Carroll Electric Cooperative Petition to Have Challenger Elected to the Board
Posted on Apr 4, 2011
In order for challenger Marcie Brewster to be added to the ballot for the 2011 board election, members of the Arkansas cooperative must obtain the signatures of one percent of Carroll Electric’s members. The members seeking Brewster’s nomination are dissatisfied with the fact that Carroll Electric holds its board meetings in private and will not make its board minutes publicly available. See Carroll County News for more.
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Vermont Coop-Nuclear Deal Not a Guarantee
Posted on Apr 1, 2011
The proposed power purchase agreement between Entergy Corp. and Vermont Electric Cooperative Inc. as posted Thursday on the Coop Law Blog is not a done deal. The cooperative’s board must first approve the 20-year contract, which provides an initial rate of 4.9 cents per kilowatt-hour and board members are worried about the reliability of the Vernon nuclear power plant. The board will mull the proposed agreement over until their April 26 meeting when members plan to make their decision reports the Burlington Free Press.
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Three Nuclear Plants Are Safe But Receive Additional NRC Oversight
Posted on Apr 1, 2011
Nuclear power plants in Kansas, Nebraska and South Carolina will see more of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) after a safety review revealed that while operating safely, the plants require additional oversight. The NRC may determine additional oversight is needed where previously identified safety issues have not been timely addressed or where issues of higher significance may be at play. Bloomberg News has the full story.
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Coop-Nuclear Deal May Not Save Vermont Plant
Posted on Mar 31, 2011
Entergy Corp. has reached a potential deal with Vermont Electric Cooperative Inc., Vermont’s third-largest electric company, to purchase power from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant under a 20-year contract. The move came after Entergy was unable to sell the plant or reach similar purchase agreements with the state’s largest utilities. The terms of the Vermont Electric deal require the plant maintain operations beyond its license expiration date in March 2012, no small feat given a state legislature poised to deny renewal based on safety concerns reports the Burlington Free...
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Upsurge in North Dakota Demand Sees Additional Investment
Posted on Mar 31, 2011
Central Power Electric Cooperative plans to invest $10 million in additional infrastructure to meet growing demand for power in the Minot, North Dakota, area. Significant oil field development prompted the need for additional power, both to supply the oil wells and to provide electricity to a growing workforce. Central Power aims to build enough capacity to sustain the area’s needs for the next 30 to 40 years. A local news station has details.
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Solar Energy Projects Wanted in Maryland
Posted on Mar 31, 2011
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SMECO) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for solar energy projects that satisfy the Maryland Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements and that will be available within the next two years. SMECO hopes the RFP will promote renewable energy development in its service area while minimizing additional costs to customers. Read more.
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Minnkota’s Narrow Corridor Request Meets Opposition
Posted on Mar 31, 2011
In an opinion piece published today in The Bismarck Tribune, one former North Dakota Public Service Commission member urges traditional transmission siting procedures be adopted in the wake of Minnkota Power Cooperative’s unusual siting request posted on the Coop Law Blog March 28. Minnkota requested a 1,000-foot-wide corridor on which to site a 260-mile-long transmission line, a move that saves money but reduces siting flexibility provided by the one- to six-mile-wide corridors usually granted by the PSC. Click here for the full story.
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Coop and Broadband Team Up in New Mexico
Posted on Mar 30, 2011
As part of a growing business trend around the country that has rural electric cooperatives teaming up with telecommunication companies, Socorro Electric Cooperative agreed to lease property and negotiate for the lease of FCC channel frequencies to Trans World Network (TWN), a move that will expand reliable telecommunication service to Socorro’s customers as well as improve its bottom line. Socorro will market TWN’s services to its customers through various advertising methods and, in addition to lease payments, the cooperative will earn monthly commission on each TWN...
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Undersea Transmission Line Incentives Draw Opposition
Posted on Mar 30, 2011
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and several state public utility commissions are among those challenging Atlantic Wind Connection’s request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant specific incentives for a 300-mile undersea transmission line development project that will link power produced by wind turbines off the East Coast to the mainland. The incentives include a guaranteed 13.58% return on equity and recovery of costs in the event the project falls through for reasons beyond the developers’ control. Investors like Google, Inc. are positioned...
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Coop Responds in Montana Contract Dispute Case
Posted on Mar 30, 2011
Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative and its development arm, SME Electric filed a motion to dismiss in a lawsuit brought against them by the city of Great Falls and its electric utility arm, Electric City Power (ECP) seeking a security deposit return and judicial determination that the city’s contracts with Southern Montana are void. Southern Montana argues its wholesale power supply contract with the city and ECP is valid and enforceable the Great Falls Tribune reports.
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Massachusetts Wind Developer Seeks Exemption From Municipal Permit Requirement
Posted on Mar 29, 2011
Cape Vineyard Electric Cooperative hopes to bypass a special permit required by the town of Brewster, Massachusetts, for the construction of two municipal wind turbines based on the location of the turbines on municipal property and in an industrial zoning area. In early March, the Brewster planning board failed to grant or deny the permit request, a hung jury resulted and effectively functioned as a denial of the permit request. Cape Vineyard opted to take its request to the state Department of Public Utilities rather than appeal the board’s denial through the traditional appellate...
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NRECA MultiSpeak Initiative Gains Another Vendor
Posted on Mar 29, 2011
In a press release today, Utility, Inc. announced it has become a vendor member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) MultiSpeak Initiative, a collaborative effort to expand a software standard in interoperability mechanisms as adopted by electric utilities. Rural electric coops nationwide already use Utility, Inc.’s products, which allow industry participants to incorporate new technology safely and efficiently into their day-to-day operations. Read more here.
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