Maryland PSC to Impose Smart Meter Opt-Out Fees
Posted on Mar 3, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Technology | Comments Off on Maryland PSC to Impose Smart Meter Opt-Out Fees
According to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), residential and small commercial customers of Baltimore Gas & Electric Company, Potomac Electric Power Company, Delmarva Power and Light Company and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative who decline installation of a smart meter will have to pay a one-time fee after July 1, 2014. The fee is intended to pay for the...
South Carolina Coops Hit Hard by Winter Weather
Posted on Feb 18, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability | Comments Off on South Carolina Coops Hit Hard by Winter Weather
Rural South Carolina was hit especially hard by the winter storms that recently swept across the Southeast, with most of the damage in areas served by The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. At one point, as many as 346,000 South Carolina residents were without power after more than an inch of ice coated trees and power lines in some areas. Click here for more.
New White Paper Calls for Focus on Grid Stability
Posted on Feb 13, 2014 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on New White Paper Calls for Focus on Grid Stability
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska recently issued a white paper warning that grid stability is complicated by coal plant retirements, environmental regulations and requirements for integrating renewable energy resources. Senator Murkowski’s paper, which has been praised by some in the industry, calls for policymakers to place grid reliability and affordability at the front of their...
Minnesota Coop Members Allowed to Pre-Purchase Energy
Posted on Feb 4, 2014 in Environmental, Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Minnesota Coop Members Allowed to Pre-Purchase Energy
Lake Region Electric Cooperative, based in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, is investing in a community solar initiative through a program that gives its members the chance to buy part of the solar output from the HQ Prairie solar project built at the coop’s headquarters. Participation in the program was offered to members on a voluntary, market-based basis, which the coop hopes will keep...
Coops Intervene in State’s Challenge of FERC Incentives
Posted on Feb 3, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Coops Intervene in State’s Challenge of FERC Incentives
On January 24, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, against a challenge by the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC), upheld incentives granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for certain transmission projects undertaken by Virginia Electric and Power Company. Two generation and transmission cooperatives, Old Dominion Electric Cooperative...
Vermont Coop Spends More than $7 Million on Damage from Ice Storm
Posted on Jan 24, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Rates | Comments Off on Vermont Coop Spends More than $7 Million on Damage from Ice Storm
Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) recently spent an unprecedented sum to repair damage caused by recent ice storms. While the cost is significant for a coop of VEC’s size, the coop’s goal is to find efficiencies and other ways to avoid rate increases. Another utility in Vermont recently announced a “storm surcharge” to cover its storm-related costs. Read more here.
Minnesota PUC Petitioned to Rethink Project Approval
Posted on Jan 16, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Project Development, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Minnesota PUC Petitioned to Rethink Project Approval
Certain public interest groups petitioned the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reconsider its decision approving a $500 million high-voltage transmission line connecting La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Rochester, Minnesota. The project, currently under construction by Dairyland Power Cooperative and other investing utilities, is scheduled for completion in 2015. Opponents of...
Alaska Coop Purchases Clean Coal Plant
Posted on Jan 14, 2014 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development | Comments Off on Alaska Coop Purchases Clean Coal Plant
Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA), based in Fairbanks, Alaska, recently purchased a 50-MW clean coal project from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, with the help of a $45 million, 30-year loan from the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation. The project, the Healy Unit 2 power plant, will be shored up with an additional $37 million in...
Basin Electric Transporting Coal by Trucks to Meet Demand
Posted on Jan 9, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Land Use, Reliability | Comments Off on Basin Electric Transporting Coal by Trucks to Meet Demand
Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) has been transporting coal via trucks to meet the demand of the Leland Olds Station, located near Stanton, North Dakota, since BNSF Railway can no longer guarantee its ability to get two 60-car coal trains on the rail tracks every day. The trucks providing the coal are now making about 250 hauls per day. The rail problem began last...
Short-Term Deal Made to Maintain Grid Reliability
Posted on Jan 2, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Reliability | Comments Off on Short-Term Deal Made to Maintain Grid Reliability
The Electric Division, based in Wallingford, Connecticut, and the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC) have reached a short-term agreement to ensure critical transmission data continues to flow between Wallingford and the regional grid operator ISO-New England. The Electric Division will have access to CMEEC’s transmitting equipment until June, at which time the...
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