NRECA Joins PJM Seeking Shutdown of FERC Floor Price Dispute
Posted on Aug 25, 2016
The NRECA has joined with PJM Interconnection LLC (PJM) and other utility groups to back the changes by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) to the PJM proposal dealing with artificial price suppression on the grid. PJM asked the D.C. Circuit to deny the grid’s power providers challenge to the plan. PJM said Monday that it is fine with FERC’s changes and, therefore, the power providers do not have grounds to appeal.
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Rural Electric Cooperative Empowered by Data Efficiency
Posted on Aug 24, 2016
Meade County Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation has leveraged leading utility management technology to cut costs and save time.
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East Kentucky Power Invests $2.9 Million in Landfill Production Expansion
Posted on Aug 22, 2016
East Kentucky Power Cooperative (East Kentucky Power) is expanding the capacity of its landfill gas-to-electric power plant next to the Bavarian Landfill in Boone County, Kentucky. The $2.9 million expansion will increase power production to 4.6 MW and is expected to be completed before the end of the month. This plant is one of six landfill gas-to-energy plants that East Kentucky Power operates throughout the state.
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Oklahoma Cooperative Executes Power Purchase Agreement to Receive Power from Cooperative
Posted on Aug 19, 2016
Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative (NEOEC) terminated its relationship with Grand River Dam Authority and has executed a power purchase agreement for its members to receive electricity from KAMO Electric Cooperative. NEOEC says the move will allow the members to receive electricity at a lower cost and the close proximity of KAMO technicians will allow NEOEC officials to respond to outages quicker.
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Department of Energy to Award $34MM for Cybersecurity Projects
Posted on Aug 19, 2016
The U.S. Department of Energy announced its plan to award $34 million for projects aimed at developing technologies and tools to increase cyberattack protection for the country’s energy infrastructure. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is receiving funding for a technology that can quickly identify anomalies in utility control communications that can indicate cyber compromise. Smaller utilities can benefit from this program by finding solutions that can be used with other applications like billing or outage management.
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Cooperatives Financing Efficiency Upgrades through Opt-in Tariffs
Posted on Aug 19, 2016
Smaller, rural cooperatives have been experimenting with a model that gets around a customer’s inability or unwillingness to take on debt or invest in energy efficiency upgrades through offering a voluntary on-bill tariff. Cooperatives have been able to lead this innovation because shareholder interests and customer interests are aligned. Put simply, the customer chooses the upgrades to be installed by a utility-paid contractor. The voluntary tariff allows the utility to recover this expense, while customer offsets the money for the tariff with energy savings, decreasing the utility’s...
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Natural Gas Set Electricity Record
Posted on Aug 17, 2016
Despite an increase in price in recent months, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is reporting that the amount of electricity produced by natural gas hit 4,950 gigawatt-hours per day in July. This is 9 percent higher than the previous record set in July 2015. Most of the growth came in the Midwest and the South, which offset the decline in natural gas generation in the West. The EIA attributes this increase to warmer than average temperatures, which increased demand for energy overall.
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Three Coops Top J.D. Power Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study
Posted on Aug 10, 2016
For the second consecutive year, Central Florida-based SECO has topped the J.D. Power Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study (J.D. Power Study). SECO’s customer satisfaction score of 769 was the highest recorded score not only among the coops but the entire J.D. Power Study, which looked at 137 electric utilities. Two other coops also placed in the second and third spots on the overall list. Jackson EMC occupies the second spot with a customer satisfaction score of 763 and Manassas, Virginia-based NOVEC occupies the third spot with a score of 748.
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Electric Coops Fuel Rural Broadband Growth
Posted on Aug 9, 2016
Electric cooperatives are helping to bring high-speed internet access to rural areas. Today, about 40 electric coops offer or are in the process of building networks to provide high-speed internet service, compared with just one in 2010.
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Coops Prominent on Solar Energy Top 10 List
Posted on Aug 9, 2016
Electric cooperatives are major contributors to a surge of solar energy additions in the United States, according to an industry study. A trio of coops ranks among the top 10 utilities in cumulative solar watts per customer in a recent industry ranking.
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Two Wisconsin Coops Lead Charge on New Solar Project
Posted on Aug 9, 2016
A new solar project being developed in Wisconsin will serve the state’s electric cooperatives, providing 15 megawatts of capacity. The “Sunflower II” array, to be located in Hammond, will be interconnected into the distribution system of St. Croix Electric Cooperative, which has contracted to buy 7 percent of the project’s output and will sell the balance of its power to generation and transmission cooperative Dairyland Power Cooperative.
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EPA Denies Request to Reconsider MATS Startup-Shutdown Rules
Posted on Aug 9, 2016
Last Friday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) denied a petition filed by environmental groups requesting that the EPA reconsider changes it had made to its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule. The specific regulations at issue, which are now final, allowed certain operators of plants more flexibility in compliance monitoring and testing during startup and shutdown of certain types of facilities.
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Big Rivers Announces 10-year Power Supply Contract with KyMEA
Posted on Aug 1, 2016
Big Rivers Electric Corporation (Big Rivers), an electric generation and transmission cooperative, finalized a 10-year power supply contract with the Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency (KyMEA). Under the contract, Big Rivers will provide between 75 and 100 MW of electricity beginning June 2019 with the potential to expand supply by up to 50 MW later in the contract term.
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USDA Offers Loan Guarantees for Coops
Posted on Aug 1, 2016
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide up to $250 million in loan guarantees for commercial-scale refineries and manufacturing facilities as long as they focus on biofuels and renewable chemicals. Applicants must provide at least 20 percent of the funding for eligible project costs and groups can form a consortium to apply for the money. Applications for an initial round of funding are due October 3.
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