New MultiSpeak Cybersecurity Standard Ready for Testing
Posted on Sep 25, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability, Technology | Comments Off on New MultiSpeak Cybersecurity Standard Ready for Testing
MultiSpeak, an industry software interoperability standard developed in part by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, has expanded to include a new cybersecurity component that is now available for testing. The cybersecurity standard is intended to help coops protect against data breaches by ensuring safer billing and other data-related processes. Click here to read...
Department of Energy Seeking Public Comment
Posted on Sep 23, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Department of Energy Seeking Public Comment
The Department of Energy has requested public comment on their newly released draft Energy Sector Cybersecurity Framework Implementation Guidance and their draft Voluntary Code of Conduct for smart grid data privacy. Federal Register requests for comment are here: Framework Guidance here: Code of Conduct here:
Basin Electric Receives Federal Approval for Major Transmission Line
Posted on Sep 16, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Permitting, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Basin Electric Receives Federal Approval for Major Transmission Line
Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) recently received federal approval for construction of a 200-mile transmission line in western North Dakota. The project, which will include 345 kV transmission lines, two new substations and modifications to three existing substations, will start at Basin Electric’s Antelope Valley Station and end in Tioga, North Dakota. Basin...
Endangered Species Listing May Risk Reliability
Posted on Sep 15, 2014 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Endangered Species Listing May Risk Reliability
Several hundred distribution and generation and transmission coops may be affected if the northern long-eared bat is added to the endangered species list. The House Natural Resources Committee is considering this designation as the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and others argue that listing the bat will pose a risk to reliability because coops remove bat roosting...
Court Strikes Down New Jersey Power Plant Subsidy Program
Posted on Sep 15, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Project Development, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Court Strikes Down New Jersey Power Plant Subsidy Program
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has determined that New Jersey’s Long-Term Capacity Agreement Pilot Program impinges on the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over wholesale sales of capacity in interstate commerce. The ruling is the latest in a string of similar cases in which state subsidy programs have been struck down on jurisdictional...
USDA Announces Investment to Improve Reliability of Rural Electric Systems
Posted on Sep 9, 2014 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on USDA Announces Investment to Improve Reliability of Rural Electric Systems
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) plan to invest more than $518 million in rural electric cooperatives to improve rural electric infrastructure. More than $23 million of the announced funding will be targeted for smart grid improvements. For more information and a list of the loan recipients, click here.
NRECA Backs Online Cybersecurity Degree Program
Posted on Sep 9, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability | Comments Off on NRECA Backs Online Cybersecurity Degree Program
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is supporting an initiative by the Energy Providers Coalition for Education to offer online degree programs in cybersecurity. Click here for more.
North Carolina Coop Entitled to Trial Over Condemnation
Posted on Sep 9, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Litigation | Comments Off on North Carolina Coop Entitled to Trial Over Condemnation
North Carolina’s Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation will get another chance in court to condemn certain land on which it wishes to run transmission lines. Landowner Tim Sweeney, a Cary, North Carolina, video game developer, challenged the condemnation last spring, and the Superior Court dismissed Rutherford’s condemnation petition. The North Carolina Court of Appeals has now...
Texas Coop Finds Drought Solution on Barge
Posted on Aug 28, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development, Reliability | Comments Off on Texas Coop Finds Drought Solution on Barge
Brazos Electric Power Cooperative (Brazos Electric) is partnering with Walnut Creek Special Utility District (Walnut Creek) to ensure access to decreasing water levels at Lake Bridgeport, northwest of Fort Worth, Texas. At the suggestion of an engineering firm, Brazos Electric and Walnut Creek have placed a barge on the lake capable of pulling up to 15 million gallons of water per...
NRECA Argues Cooperatives Should Qualify for FCC Broadband Funds
Posted on Aug 19, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on NRECA Argues Cooperatives Should Qualify for FCC Broadband Funds
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has provided comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Phase II of the national competitive bid process for the Connect America Fund. In those comments, NRECA has argued that electric cooperatives that are already exploring providing broadband service to rural areas should be able to qualify for available...
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