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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NRECA CEO: Carbon-Free Electricity Generation by 2035 Is Overly Ambitious
Posted on Mar 25, 2022
After the Biden administration set the goal of achieving a 100% carbon-free electric sector by 2035, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) CEO, Jim Matheson, argued to Congress this overly ambitious goal could threaten grid reliability and requires technology that is not yet available. Matheson suggested Congress instead focus on a resilient and reliable electric grid that is affordable, and continue to take additional actions like tax credits, permit streamlining and coordination on electrification required to meet future energy sector needs
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Developers Appeal Federal Ruling Blocking Transmission Project Through Wildlife Refuge
Posted on Mar 25, 2022
ITC Midwest, American Transmission and Dairyland Power Cooperative have appealed a federal ruling that blocks the construction of transmission lines through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge. The lines are part of a $492 million project that would run more than 100 miles between Dane County, Wisconsin and Dubuque County Iowa.
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North Carolina Cooperatives to Launch Utility-Scale Battery Storage Project
Posted on Mar 21, 2022
North Carolina Electric Membership Corp. will own and operate a utility-scale battery storage project, which will total up to 40 megawatts of storage. The batteries will enhance reliability and help manage peak demand.
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NRECA Requests Postal Service Abandon Postage Rate Increases
Posted on Mar 21, 2022
The U.S. Postal Service is set to increase nonprofit marketing mail rates by an average of 7.8%. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), along with other nonprofits, are asking the Postal Service to abandon the increases in light of the Postal Reform Act of 2022, which President Biden is expected to sign into law soon.
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Cryptocurrency Mining Impacts Texas Power Grid
Posted on Mar 21, 2022
Texas power utilities, including Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative, Inc., have been left on their own to figure out how to manage energy demand from cryptocurrency mining. The utilities have been fielding proposals for demand management, including the need for upgrades to transmission lines or requiring miners to pay higher power rates.
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New Hampshire Electric Cooperative to Expand Broadband
Posted on Mar 4, 2022
New Hampshire Electric Cooperative is planning a broadband expansion to over 30 towns in rural parts of Grafton County, NH, to an estimated 16,500 people. The project is expected to start in early summer 2022 and be completed in 18 months.
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Montana Cooperative’s Savings Total $1.7 Million in 2021
Posted on Mar 4, 2022
Flathead Electric Cooperative’s energy efficiency efforts saved approximately 10,766 megawatt hours of electricity, resulting in payments of $1.7 million in energy efficiency savings to the coop’s members and partners. The coop credits the savings to its new outreach program focused on educating members on energy efficiency.
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