Coop Lineworkers Volunteering to Help Electrify Guatemalan Village
Posted on May 12, 2022
A team of 16 lineworker volunteers from electric cooperatives in Oklahoma and Colorado, including Cimarron Electric Cooperative, Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, and Holy Cross Energy, will travel to Guatemala in this summer with NRECA International to help electrify a small mountain village of about 250 people.
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Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative Receives $13.4 Million USDA Loan
Posted on May 9, 2022
Lewis County Electric Cooperative in Lewiston, Missouri has received a $13.4 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The loan will go towards upgrading transmission lines and funding smart grid upgrades.
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Louisiana Cooperatives Form Power-Buying Coalition to Create Cost Savings
Posted on May 9, 2022
Five electric cooperatives in Louisiana have joined together to form 1803 Electric Cooperative to pool their power supply needs. By collectively negotiating for power supply, the cooperatives expect to provide a 10 to 15 percent rate decrease starting in 2025.
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Great River Energy Completes Sale of Coal Creek Station
Posted on May 5, 2022
Rainbow Energy Center, LLC has purchased Coal Creek Station, a coal-fired power plant, from Great River Energy. The sale will preserve jobs at the plant, and the new ownership has stated its commitment to carbon capture objectives.
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Great Lakes Energy Cooperative Receives $27 Million as Part of USDA Clean Energy Grant
Posted on May 5, 2022
Great Lakes Energy Cooperative (Great Lakes) is the largest recipient of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds to support clean energy in Michigan. The USDA funds will be distributed to eight different projects in the state, many of which are small scale solar projects that will help small businesses. Great Lakes will receive $27 million to expand and remodel its headquarters and warehouse in rural Michigan.
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Federal Courts Uphold Wholesale Power Contract Terms to Prevent Early Termination
Posted on May 2, 2022
Federal courts in South Carolina and South Dakota have upheld the terms of wholesale power contracts (WPCs) between East River Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (East River) and Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (Central Electric) and their members. The separate cases involved distribution cooperative members of East River and Central Electric who sought to terminate and buy out of their WPCs prior to the end of their respective contract terms. Both courts found that the terms of the agreements, as well as East River’s and Central Electric’s bylaws, were unambiguous and did not...
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NRECA Spotlights Legislative Goals as Electric Cooperative Leaders Head to Capitol
Posted on Apr 29, 2022
Electric cooperative leaders are going to Washington to ask Congress for help in taking advantage of energy incentives, reducing their debt, and accessing billions of infrastructure dollars. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has identified dozens of components of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that may be of interest to electric cooperatives, and they will meet with federal agency officials as they decide how to distribute funding from the bill.
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NRECA Creates Membership Service Tier to Focus on Rural Broadband
Posted on Apr 28, 2022
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has created a new membership tier for cooperatives considering or currently providing broadband services. This membership group is designed to help provide assistance with strategy and support for a wide range of related issues, including technology, communication, regulations, and federal policy. NRECA anticipates that about 400 of its members will offer broadband services.
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Arizona Cooperative Plans Investments to Meet Growing Need
Posted on Apr 27, 2022
Arizona’s Trico Electric Cooperative is investing in connecting more than 4,100 new services to its distribution system and upgrading 49 miles of power lines. These investments will allow Trico to meet the needs of the growing Tucson metropolitan area while continuing to serve members taking more control of how they use energy.
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Courts uphold wholesale power contracts among electric cooperatives
Posted on Apr 14, 2022
Courts in South Carolina and South Dakota have recently recognized the validity of term provisions in wholesale power contracts between generation and transmission cooperatives and their member distribution cooperatives. In late 2020, two distribution cooperatives—Dakota Energy Cooperative, Inc. and Marlboro Electric Cooperative, Inc.—each sued their generation and transmission cooperatives (G&Ts)—East River Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. and Central Electric Power Cooperative, Inc., respectively—seeking to terminate and buy out of their wholesale power contracts (WPCs) prior to the...
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East River Electric Cooperative Wins Summary Judgment on Wholesale Power Contract Buy-Out Dispute
Posted on Apr 14, 2022
U.S. District Judge Larry Piersol granted East River Electric Cooperative’s (East River) motion for summary judgment in a suit initiated by Dakota Energy Cooperative (Dakota Energy). Dakota Energy requested that it be able to terminate its wholesale power contract with East River and pay a buy-out fee. Judge Piersol ruled that the contract did not provide for early termination and that Dakota Energy must continue to meet its obligation to purchase all of its power from East River for the duration of the contract.
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CIPCO CEO Tells Congress Energy Mix Essential For Reliability
Posted on Apr 6, 2022
Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) CEO told the House Agriculture Committee that coops are increasing investments in renewable energy and that “intermittent resources such as wind and solar must continue to be complemented and supported by always-available baseload energy resources like coal and natural gas.” He noted “[s]ystem reliability depends on the ability to blend intermittent sources like wind and solar with firm, flexible and dispatchable electric capacity.”
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Illinois Coop to Use CAF II Funding for Fixed Wireless Deployment
Posted on Apr 6, 2022
Illinois Electric Cooperative announced plans to use funding received through the Connect America Fund II (CAF II) auction to deploy fixed wireless in rural Illinois. The CAF II auction awarded funding to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband to unserved areas.
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Continental Divide Electric Cooperative Expanding Broadband to Zuni Nation Members
Posted on Mar 28, 2022
Continental Divide Electric Cooperative’s (CDEC) Red Bolt Broadband unit is working with Zuni tribal government to provide internet connectivity to 2,200 households on the tribe’s reservation land. The project is funded by a combination of state, federal, and tribal grants, with CDEC paying the balance of construction costs. CDEC’s existing transmission lines will serve as the backbone for the project.
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