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Proposed Texas Bill Would Give Customers Grounds to Sue

In addition to creating a cause of action against utilities for theft and improper use of data, a proposed Texas bill, H.B. 1171, also provides customers with the right to opt out of smart meter programs and the right to have previously installed meters removed.  This bill differs from a prior Senate bill in that H.B. 1171 provides customers with this cause of action but does not...

Coop and IOU Strike Deal to End Territorial Dispute

The city council of Cheyenne, Wyoming, has approved a franchise agreement between High West Energy, Inc. (High West) and Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company that ends a 35-year territorial dispute between the coop and the investor-owned utility.  Over the years, the coop has lost service territory and customers as the city expanded into unincorporated territory serviced by High...

Delaware Coop Breaks Ground on New Solar Farm

The Delaware Electric Cooperative (Delaware Electric) has begun construction of a 20-acre, 16,000-solar-panel, solar energy farm in Sussex County, Delaware.  It will be one of the largest solar farms in the state and is expected to cost $14 million.  Delaware Electric hopes the project will be online by May 2013.  Read more here.

Kansas Coop Brings Attention to Private Transmission Considerations

Wheatland Electric Cooperative of Kansas is alerting others to potential concerns regarding the construction of private transmission lines to meet increased oil and gas exploration in the Mississippi Lime Play, which is an underground formation across southern and western Kansas and northern Oklahoma.  If energy companies begin building their own electric transmission infrastructure,...

Colorado Coop Looks to Expand Transmission Line Capacity

San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative plans to expand the capacity of a 32-mile transmission line from 69 kV to 115 kV.  The project will improve reliability in the San Luis Valley by reducing the risk of outages.  The Pueblo Chieftain has the full story.

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association to Consider Alternative Transmission Project

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association plans to consider an alternative route for its planned transmission project to provide new infrastructure for its electric system.  Tri-State’s decision is in response to Xcel Energy’s indication that it will likely withdraw from the previously proposed joint transmission project.  The project will help provide reliable power to San...

Michigan Agency Extends Permit for Installation of Coal Plant

A coalition of Michigan electric utilities, which  includes Cherryland Electric Cooperative, recently received an extended permit from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for the construction of a contested coal plant project  However, utility officials, including those representing Cadillac-based Wolverine Power Cooperative, have not announced if they intend to follow...

FERC Notes Coop Smart Grid Growth

The use of smart grid technologies by coops is being recognized on a national level.  A report issued in December 2012 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stated that coops are still national leaders in implementing advanced metering.  According to the FERC report, advanced metering use among coops increased from 16.4 percent in 2008 to 24.7 percent in 2010 to 30.9...

Finnish Company to Supply Engines to Gas Plant in Texas

Finnish power company Wärtsilä has won a deal to supply 12  engines for a new 225-MW gas plant, the South Texas Electric Cooperative (STEC) Red Gate power plant, to be located in Hidalgo County, Texas.  This plant is scheduled to be operational by summer 2014.  Wärtsilä has supplied components to three other power plants in Texas, including a 200-MW facility at Pearsall, Texas, which...

NRECA Speaks Out Against EPA Turbine Plan

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is urging the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to back off on its proposed revisions to New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for stationary gas turbines and stationary combustion turbines.  According to the NRECA, the revisions are flawed because the revised standards would be made retroactive to February 2005 and...

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