Pacific Northwest Coops Ordered to Rebalance Use of Hydropower and Wind Energy
Posted on Dec 12, 2011 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Pacific Northwest Coops Ordered to Rebalance Use of Hydropower and Wind Energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that the Bonneville Power Administration discriminated against wind interests by cutting back on wind production at times of high hydroelectric generation. FERC gave the BPA 90 days to come up with a new program. BPA announced an “environmental redispatch” policy last May in an effort to balance supply and demand and comply with salmon...
Maryland Coop Acquiring Distribution Networks to Increase Load
Posted on Dec 9, 2011 in Mergers/Acquisitions | Comments Off on Maryland Coop Acquiring Distribution Networks to Increase Load
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative has been pursing the acquisition of distribution networks as a way to add commercial and industrial load to its service territory. The coop was recently granted the right by state officials to acquire the electric system of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. Read more here.
Coop Advocates Reliability-Based Exemption From EPA Regulations
Posted on Dec 9, 2011 in Environmental, Reliability | Comments Off on Coop Advocates Reliability-Based Exemption From EPA Regulations
At a recent FERC technical conference, Eric Baker, the president and CEO of Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, talked of the need for a “safety-valve” approach to new EPA regulations that would balance environmental issues and reliability concerns. Mr. Baker, the NRECA and others are advocating various approaches that would provide extensions or exemptions for at least...
Washington State Coop Changes Capital Credit Policy
Posted on Dec 8, 2011 in Corporate Governance, Patronage Capital | Comments Off on Washington State Coop Changes Capital Credit Policy
The Okanogan County Electric Cooperative board of directors opted to modify the coop’s capital credit distribution policy to better align with other coops in the area. Okanogan reduced the amount of distribution from 5 percent to 2 percent of the coop’s margin and narrowed the pool of members identified for distribution to only those belonging to the coop in 1992. Click here for more...
Colorado Coop’s Proposed Rate Structure Meets Protest
Posted on Dec 8, 2011 in Energy Savings Programs, Rates | Comments Off on Colorado Coop’s Proposed Rate Structure Meets Protest
A new rate structure proposed by Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) will increase costs to its residential customers. The plan would raise monthly base charges by 60 percent in order to pay higher rates imposed by DMEA’s wholesale power supplier. Critics of the proposed rate structure say it will negate investments made in energy use efficiency and unfairly allocate costs to...
Upper-Midwest Coops Critical of EPA Haze Plan
Posted on Dec 8, 2011 in Environmental, Rates, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on Upper-Midwest Coops Critical of EPA Haze Plan
Minnkota Power Coop and North Star Electric Coop are among those opposed to proposed new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) haze pollution standards because any benefits would be far outweighed by the cost to consumers in the form of a rate increase. Proponents of the EPA standards claim they will improve public health, preserve national parks and create thousands of new jobs....
Tri-State Subsidiary Buys Colorado Coal Mine
Posted on Dec 6, 2011 in Climate Change, Environmental, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Tri-State Subsidiary Buys Colorado Coal Mine
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the largest electric coop in Colorado, has placed its bets on coal as its primary generation source for years to come. The coop’s subsidiary Western Fuels-Colorado LLC, a fuel supplier that delivers coal under contract to Tri-State’s plants, has purchased the Colowyo coal mine from Rio Tinto. Tri-State cites the lower cost of coal as...
SWEPCO Turk Plant Permit Stay Lifted
Posted on Dec 6, 2011 in Climate Change, Environmental, Permitting, Project Development | Comments Off on SWEPCO Turk Plant Permit Stay Lifted
AEP/Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO), the majority owner of the John W. Turk, Jr., Power Plant under construction near Fulton, Arkansas, won a legal victory that will allow it to complete the $2 billion project. Environmental challenges to the coal-fired electrical generation plant resulted in a stay placed on the plant’s wastewater discharge permit. The Arkansas Pollution...
Landowners File Class Action Complaint Against Coop
Posted on Dec 5, 2011 in Land Use, Litigation | Comments Off on Landowners File Class Action Complaint Against Coop
Several Missouri landowners have filed a class action complaint against Sho-Me Power Electric Cooperative, Sho-Me Technologies, Kamo Electric Cooperative and K-PowerNet.. The plaintiffs claim that the coops and other defendants installed or used more than 2,000 miles of fiber-optic cable throughout the state on plaintiffs’ land that is subject to a limited electric-utility easement. ...
Two Coops Agree to Develop Solar Project
Posted on Dec 5, 2011 in Innovation/Efficiency, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Two Coops Agree to Develop Solar Project
New Mexico-based PPC Solar announced that Kit Carson Electric Cooperative has conditionally approved an agreement under which PPC Solar will construct a 1.5-MW solar array in Taos County, New Mexico. The project would be the largest solar installation in the county and reportedly would generate an estimated 2,985,859 kWh of solar power in the first year of operation. The Solar...
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