Iowa Legislators Back Coops Revisiting Denial of FEMA Aid
Posted on Jan 14, 2014 in Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Iowa Legislators Back Coops Revisiting Denial of FEMA Aid
After being denied aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) following an April 2013 ice storm, several Iowa coops, as well as the State of Iowa itself, appealed the agency’s decision. The Iowa congressional delegation has asked that FEMA revisit the decision, which Chuck Grassley, U.S. Senator from Iowa, says resulted from an “abrupt change of policy.” Click here for...
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...
Coops Battle Frigid Temperatures
Posted on Jan 8, 2014 in Reliability | Comments Off on Coops Battle Frigid Temperatures
Cooperatives throughout the country are battling a bitter cold snap that has brought record low temperatures, snow and ice to hundreds of cooperative territories. The weather has caused some cooperatives to issue calls for conservation and has kept line crews busy for several days. To read more about how the winter weather is affecting cooperatives, click here.
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...
NRECA: NIST Cyber Security Framework Should Consider Needs of Coops
Posted on Dec 26, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Technology | Comments Off on NRECA: NIST Cyber Security Framework Should Consider Needs of Coops
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is urging the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to keep in mind the varying organizations and structures of companies operating in the energy sector when developing its Cyber Security Framework (Framework), a project undertaken in response to a February 2013 executive order issued by President Obama. The...
Golden Spread Proposes New Transmission Line
Posted on Dec 17, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Permitting, Project Development, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Golden Spread Proposes New Transmission Line
Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Golden Spread) is planning a new transmission line that would connect the present divide between the power grid that covers the Texas Panhandle and the grid for the rest of Texas. The coop, along with Sharyland Utilities, L.P. (Sharyland) will connect new and existing natural gas generation units north of Abernathy to the new transmission...
USDA to Provide More than $1.8 Billion in Funding
Posted on Dec 16, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on USDA to Provide More than $1.8 Billion in Funding
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Friday that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide over $1.8 billion to fund electric utility infrastructure improvements in 25 states and one territory. The USDA-funded improvements include smart grid and renewable energy projects and the building or improvement of more than 6,500 miles of transmission lines. ...
Kentucky PSC Grants Rehearing on Big Rivers
Posted on Dec 13, 2013 in Litigation, Rates, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Kentucky PSC Grants Rehearing on Big Rivers
The Kentucky Public Service Commission will reconsider the revenues Big Rivers Electric Corporation (Big Rivers) is positioned to receive for its continued operation of a power plant required by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator for reliability reasons. Big Rivers’ opponents claim that the coop understated the revenues it will receive from continued operations by roughly...
Ice Causes Mayhem in Many States
Posted on Dec 10, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability | Comments Off on Ice Causes Mayhem in Many States
Last week’s winter storm and resulting ice and snow caused mayhem for many electric coops around the country. During the worst of the storm, nearly 30,000 coop customers in the Midwest were out of power, and eight Virginia coops reported about 43,000 meters of power lines out of commission. To prepare for more hard winter weather, statewide associations have requested mutual aid...
Arkansas Grid Vandal Indicted
Posted on Dec 10, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Reliability | Comments Off on Arkansas Grid Vandal Indicted
An Arkansas man accused of damaging electric coop facilities has been issued an eight-count indictment on charges relating to sabotage of high-voltage power lines and power stations earlier this year in several cities. Among them: a terrorist attack against a railroad carrier and destruction of energy facilities, including a 115,000-volt transmission line owned by First Electric...
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