Eversheds Sutherland Coop Law Blog
content top

USDA Makes $960 Million Investment in Rural Electric Utility System Improvements

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced funding for rural electric utility system improvements that will benefit residential and business customers in 23 states, including more than $14.3 million to implement smart grid technology and nearly $11 million to improve electric service for Native Americans.  The $960 million in USDA loan guarantees will go...

EPA Proposes Carbon Standards for New Power Facilities

As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a news release outlining carbon standards for new power facilities.  The EPA will consider comments and hold a public hearing before completing the rulemaking process.  For more information, click here.

White House Calls for Additional Spending on Nation’s Power Grid

The Obama Administration has released a report on the costs of power outages, which calls for increased spending on the nation’s electric power system.  According to the report, power outages cost the economy $18 billion to $33 billion per year.  Seven of the ten most costly storms in U.S. history occurred between 2004 and 2012, during a time when the U.S. electric grid was...

NRECA Opposes President’s Plan on Climate Change

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has launched a campaign against President Barack Obama’s proposal to use the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide and fight climate change.  The NRECA  released a video voicing its opposition to the President’s plan.  Click here for more.

NRECA to Oppose Certain Power Plant Rules in Obama Climate Plan

Due to concerns that power plant regulations would impose enormous costs on vulnerable citizens, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has stated that it intends to oppose any effort to use Obama’s Clean Air Act to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  While the climate plan, which was slated for release on June 25, has been widely expected to address rules to limit...

House Subcommittee Rejects Administration’s RUS Limitations

A House subcommittee supports a bill providing $4 billion to the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) loan program but opposes limitations on that amount proposed by the Obama Administration.  The Administration would allocate $3 billion for renewable-energy-related projects and the remaining $1 billion to environmental upgrade projects.  The House subcommittee would provide more flexibility...

Coop President Testifies on Cyber Security

Duane Highley, president of the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas, testified before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee in an effort to ease further cyber security mandates on power utilities.  Highley stated that voluntary industry standards are working to protect the energy grid, but some lawmakers argued that mandatory compliance should be required.  To read more about this...

Obama Administration Proposes New Restrictions on RUS Financing

The Department of Agriculture announced a fiscal 2014 budget of $4 billion for the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Loan Program.  Of that amount, $3 billion would be earmarked for renewable energy projects with the remaining $1 billion held for environmental upgrades.  The proposed budget provides no money for other distribution or transmission projects, a void that lawmakers...

Coop Leaders Meet with President Obama to Discuss Response to Grid Reliability

On May 8, nearly three dozen electric utility executives met with President Obama to discuss ways to improve the industry’s ability to respond to major disruptions or threats to grid reliability, such as the outages that occurred with Superstorm Sandy.  The group discussed ways to better aid the collective response required at such times, including providing adequate food and lodging...

Next Entries »