Eversheds Sutherland Coop Law Blog
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Coop Lineworkers Volunteering to Help Electrify Guatemalan Village

A team of 16 lineworker volunteers from electric cooperatives in Oklahoma and Colorado, including Cimarron Electric Cooperative, Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative, and Holy Cross Energy, will travel to Guatemala in this summer with NRECA International to help electrify a small mountain village of about 250 people.

Lewis County Rural Electric Cooperative Receives $13.4 Million USDA Loan

Lewis County Electric Cooperative in Lewiston, Missouri has received a $13.4 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The loan will go towards upgrading transmission lines and funding smart grid upgrades.

Great River Energy Completes Sale of Coal Creek Station

Rainbow Energy Center, LLC has purchased Coal Creek Station, a coal-fired power plant, from Great River Energy. The sale will preserve jobs at the plant, and the new ownership has stated its commitment to carbon capture objectives.

Arizona Cooperative Plans Investments to Meet Growing Need

Arizona’s Trico Electric Cooperative is investing in connecting more than 4,100 new services to its distribution system and upgrading 49 miles of power lines. These investments will allow Trico to meet the needs of the growing Tucson metropolitan area while continuing to serve members taking more control of how they use energy.

CIPCO CEO Tells Congress Energy Mix Essential For Reliability

Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) CEO told the House Agriculture Committee that coops are increasing investments in renewable energy and that “intermittent resources such as wind and solar must continue to be complemented and supported by always-available baseload energy resources like coal and natural gas.” He noted “[s]ystem reliability depends on the ability to blend...

Illinois Coop to Use CAF II Funding for Fixed Wireless Deployment

Illinois Electric Cooperative announced plans to use funding received through the Connect America Fund II (CAF II) auction to deploy fixed wireless in rural Illinois. The CAF II auction awarded funding to cover some of the costs of deploying broadband to unserved areas.

Cryptocurrency Mining Impacts Texas Power Grid

Texas power utilities, including Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative, Inc., have been left on their own to figure out how to manage energy demand from cryptocurrency mining. The utilities have been fielding proposals for demand management, including the need for upgrades to transmission lines or requiring miners to pay higher power rates.

House Reconciliation Bill Includes Provisions to Assist Coops in Energy Transition

The recently passed House budget reconciliation bill includes two provisions that will directly assist electric cooperatives, including Direct Pay Energy Innovation Tax Credits, which provides the equivalent of a federal tax incentive for renewable investments via direct payments, and the USDA Voluntary Energy Transition Program, which provides $10 billion to defray the cost of...

Electric Cooperatives Laud Passage of Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson praised Congress’ passage of a bipartisan infrastructure bill that will support clean energy technologies, broadband deployment, grid modernization and resiliency and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, all of which will assist in meeting the needs of communities served by electric cooperatives.

Minnesota Cooperatives Win at Minnesota Public Utilities Commission

On October 5, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) permitted Conexus Energy to replace distribution line located underneath tracks owned by BNSF Railway for only “reasonable and necessary” traffic and flagging expenses, rejecting BNSF’s 52 requirements and request for hearing. The ruling was the first test of a railway crossing law by an electric coop before the MPUC after...

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