Commission Suspends Planned Rate Increase for New Mexico Electric Coops
Posted on Dec 26, 2012 in Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Commission Suspends Planned Rate Increase for New Mexico Electric Coops
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) has suspended a planned rate increase for several New Mexico electric cooperatives that are part of the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Tri-State). Tri-State will likely file suit protesting the decision, arguing that the New Mexico PRC has no jurisdiction over interstate wholesale power sales. During the pendency...
Hawaii Regulators Approve Kaua’i Island Solar Power Purchase Agreement
Posted on Dec 11, 2012 in Climate Change, Environmental, Financing, Project Development, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Hawaii Regulators Approve Kaua’i Island Solar Power Purchase Agreement
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission has approved a 20-year power purchase agreement between the Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative and REC Solar for its 300-kilowatt, MP2 Hawaii Solar Project in Koloa. This will be the 36th-largest renewable energy project in Hawaii. Read more here.
New Mexico Coops and Tri-State G&T in Rate Battle
Posted on Dec 11, 2012 in Legislative & Politics, Litigation, Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on New Mexico Coops and Tri-State G&T in Rate Battle
Kit Carson Electric Cooperative and two other New Mexico coops are battling a rate increase proposed by Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc. (Tri-State). Specifically, the coops filed a protest calling for a public hearing on the rate increase. The coops cited a New Mexico law that allows the Public Regulation Commission to call a hearing on rates if three or more...
Coop and River Authority Reach Preliminary Settlement in Pending Lawsuit
Posted on Dec 10, 2012 in Litigation, Rates | Comments Off on Coop and River Authority Reach Preliminary Settlement in Pending Lawsuit
Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative (GVEC) and the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) have reached a preliminary settlement of the lawsuit filed by LCRA after GVEC notified the authority of GVEC’s intent to terminate its wholesale electric contract with LCRA. GVEC is one of 10 wholesale customers of LCRA that chose not to extend contracts expiring in June 2016. The non-extending...
Annual Survey Finds Customers More Satisfied with Coops than IOUs
Posted on Dec 3, 2012 in Corporate Governance, Rates, Reliability | Comments Off on Annual Survey Finds Customers More Satisfied with Coops than IOUs
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which annually surveys some 70,000 consumers, found that energy coops scored, on average, several points higher than investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in customer satisfaction. Touchstone Energy coops tied their all-time high showing in ACSI with a score of 83 compared to the IOU average of 76. The top utility, with a score of 85, was...
Department of Energy and Western Area Power Administration Issue New Proposals on Hydropower
Posted on Nov 26, 2012 in Environmental, Rates, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Department of Energy and Western Area Power Administration Issue New Proposals on Hydropower
On November 27, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Western Area Power Administration’s joint outreach team laid out a set of proposals in a Federal Register notice that are aimed at reforming Western’s hydropower marketing amid electrical grid upgrades. The DOE and Western say their recommendations would improve Western’s operations and optimize its transmission services but some...
Cost of Transporting Coal on the Rise
Posted on Nov 26, 2012 in Grid & Infrastructure, Rates, Reliability | Comments Off on Cost of Transporting Coal on the Rise
According to a new study conducted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), power plant owners are paying nearly 50 percent more to haul coal to their units than they did a decade ago. The EIA’s annual analysis of coal transportation costs said electric generators spent an average of $17.25 per ton in 2010, a 46 percent hike from $11.83 per ton in 2001. Most of the cost...
Federal Analysts Find that Natural Gas Costs are Climbing
Posted on Nov 19, 2012 in Rates | Comments Off on Federal Analysts Find that Natural Gas Costs are Climbing
According to federal analysts at the Energy Information Administration (EIA), historically low natural gas prices are starting to increase. The EIA is projecting an average 22 percent jump in the price of natural gas delivered to generators in 2013. The agency reports that record-high natural gas inventories are expected to decline, leading to tighter demand and higher prices as the...
Some Members Challenge Rate Increases in Wake of Utility Merger
Posted on Nov 16, 2012 in Corporate Governance, Mergers/Acquisitions, Rates | Comments Off on Some Members Challenge Rate Increases in Wake of Utility Merger
Following the merger of Central Vermont Public Service with and into Green Mountain Power, two members of the surviving Green Mountain Power are protesting certain transmission-related rate increases before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Although the rate increases are to be phased-in over time, the new transmission rates represent an increase of more than 75 percent. ...
Member Cooperatives Considering Legal Action Over Rate Hike
Posted on Nov 16, 2012 in Corporate Governance, Litigation, Rates | Comments Off on Member Cooperatives Considering Legal Action Over Rate Hike
Three member cooperatives of Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association Inc. (Tri-State) have objected to a 4.9 percent wholesale rate increase by filing a written complaint with the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. The Santa Fe New Mexican is covering this story.
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