Florida Coop Faces Theft of Power by Marijuana Farms
Posted on Aug 25, 2014 in Rates, Reliability | Comments Off on Florida Coop Faces Theft of Power by Marijuana Farms
Florida’s Glades Electric Cooperative may be losing as much as $1 million worth of electricity to marijuana farms whose operators do not pay for the power they use, according to Paul McGehee, director of business development for Glades. While the theft of power allows marijuana farmers to profit at the coop’s expense, the resulting system overloads and subsequent outages often tip off...
Coops Challenge FERC’s New ROE Calculation
Posted on Aug 18, 2014 in Financing, Litigation, Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Coops Challenge FERC’s New ROE Calculation
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has signaled that it intends to change the methodology with which it calculates utilities’ return on equity (ROE), eliciting concern from the electric cooperative community. In a June 19 order involving New Hampshire Electric Cooperative, FERC used a new “two-step” method to calculate the ROE for oil and gas pipelines, and the commission has...
With Support of Coop, Iowa Farmer Powers Irrigation with Solar Energy
Posted on Aug 11, 2014 in Energy Savings Programs, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on With Support of Coop, Iowa Farmer Powers Irrigation with Solar Energy
An Iowa farmer is powering his irrigation system with solar power generated by a twenty-two panel array on his property. Western Iowa Power Cooperative has entered a ten year net metering deal under which it will purchase any excess power generated by the array. Click here for more.
J.D. Power Survey Shows Coop Members Increasingly Satisfied
Posted on Jul 25, 2014 in Corporate Governance, Rates | Comments Off on J.D. Power Survey Shows Coop Members Increasingly Satisfied
With questions focusing on price, reliability and customer service, J.D. Power surveyed more than 104,000 residential members about their experience with their local cooperatives. Compared to last year, overall satisfaction levels increased. Members of Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative and Sawnee EMC reported especially favorable levels of satisfaction. Please click here for...
Electric Coops Continue to Outperform other Electric Utility Sectors
Posted on Jul 16, 2014 in Rates | Comments Off on Electric Coops Continue to Outperform other Electric Utility Sectors
Overall the electric utility industry has seen a fall in demand and sales over the past five years. However, electric cooperatives have been outperforming other electric utility sectors, with median kilowatt-hour sales up by 3.13 percent in 2013. To read more, please click here.
Coops Increase Power Sales in 2013
Median kilowatt-hour sales by electric cooperatives grew by 3.13 percent in 2013, reversing a recent trend of declining power sales. This figure shows that electric cooperatives continue to be the fastest-growing segment of the retail electric industry; retail kilowatt-hour sales for the entire industry decreased by 0.1 percent in 2013. To read more about this story, please click...Vermont Coop Proposes Change to Net Metering Program
Posted on Jul 1, 2014 in Energy Savings Programs, Grid & Infrastructure, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Coop Proposes Change to Net Metering Program
As the Sutherland Coop Team reported on April 2, 2014, legislation in Vermont this spring opened the door for more homeowners to sell excess power back to the electrical grid. East Montpelier-based Washington Electric Cooperative (WEC) has proposed that a grid service fee be charged to net metering customers based on the amount of power that they generate. WEC says that the charge...
Telecom Company Wins Transmission Case
Posted on Jun 17, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Litigation, Project Development, Rates | Comments Off on Telecom Company Wins Transmission Case
A North Carolina court ruled that pole attachment rates charged by Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation were in violation of a North Carolina statute, according to the Federal Communications Commission rate formula. The issue revolves around the rates per pole that would be charged to telecom customers in the area. Nearly 7,400 poles are at issue. For more information, click...
Coal Squeezed Out By Environmental Regulations
Posted on Jun 11, 2014 in Climate Change, Environmental, Financing, Legislative & Politics, Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Coal Squeezed Out By Environmental Regulations
New environmental regulations and coal plant retirements will affect the nation’s energy mix by 2015, according to a government report. Coal consumption is projected to drop by 3.1 percent in 2015, despite the demand for coal power during the coldest parts of last winter. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates coal plant operators will shut down 60 GW of capacity by...
New Mexico City Plans to Acquire Coop
Posted on May 9, 2014 in Legislative & Politics, Mergers/Acquisitions, Rates | Comments Off on New Mexico City Plans to Acquire Coop
The City of Socorro, New Mexico, has plans to acquire Socorro Electric Cooperative (SEC), said the city’s mayor, Ravi Bhasker. Recently energy costs have been significantly higher in Socorro than in other New Mexico cities. Click here for more.
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