South Carolina Utility Signs Deal with South Carolina Coop
Posted on May 21, 2013 in Rates, Reliability | Comments Off on South Carolina Utility Signs Deal with South Carolina Coop
South Carolina’s Santee Cooper has reached an agreement with Central Electric Power Cooperative (CEPC) to provide electricity to 20 independent electric coops for the next 45 years. CEPC buys power and helps deliver it for 20 smaller electric companies in South Carolina. CEPC also has deals with Duke Energy Carolinas and South Carolina Electric and Gas. Click here to read...
Coops Help as Oklahoma Rebuilds
Posted on May 21, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability | Comments Off on Coops Help as Oklahoma Rebuilds
Assisted by a dozen other coops, Oklahoma Electric Cooperative has begun repairs following the devastating tornados that hit the Oklahoma City area this week. At least six substations are reported to have lost power after 200 mph winds tore through the area. For more information about the scope of the outages and those involved in the repairs, click here.
Coops Concerned with EPA Proposal for Power Plants
Posted on May 20, 2013 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Permitting, Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Coops Concerned with EPA Proposal for Power Plants
Electric coops are asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its proposal which could greatly affect power plants under the Clean Air Act. The proposal, which would involve at least 36 states, would “fundamentally” change how power plants operate during startups, shutdowns and malfunctions. Electric Co-op Today has more details on the cooperatives’...
Coops Advocate Water Heater Rule Change
Posted on May 15, 2013 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Coops Advocate Water Heater Rule Change
Electric cooperatives are advocating that the Department of Energy (DOE) make changes to a new rule that would phase out large-capacity electric storage water heaters from demand management programs. These water heaters save time and energy for cooperatives and provide significant reductions in wholesale power costs. Currently, the DOE has offered one-year waivers for the water...
Coop Leaders Meet with President Obama to Discuss Response to Grid Reliability
Posted on May 14, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Coop Leaders Meet with President Obama to Discuss Response to Grid Reliability
On May 8, nearly three dozen electric utility executives met with President Obama to discuss ways to improve the industry’s ability to respond to major disruptions or threats to grid reliability, such as the outages that occurred with Superstorm Sandy. The group discussed ways to better aid the collective response required at such times, including providing adequate food and lodging...
Customer Satisfaction Index Finds High Levels of Satisfaction with Coops
Posted on Apr 29, 2013 in Rates, Reliability | Comments Off on Customer Satisfaction Index Finds High Levels of Satisfaction with Coops
For the second year in a row, electric cooperatives scored an average of 83 points out of 100 possible points for customer satisfaction as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Coops maintained higher scores than energy utilities, which increased for the seventh straight year—to 77.4 out of 100 possible points. The ACSI found that increased energy efficiency...
Out With the Old, in With the New – CIP Version 5 on the Horizon
Posted on Apr 25, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Out With the Old, in With the New – CIP Version 5 on the Horizon
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed a rule to approve the long-awaited Version 5 of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards, which will overhaul the CIP regulatory framework and trigger new and revised compliance obligations for many users, owners and operators of the bulk electric...
Information Sharing Cyber Security Bill to Go to Senate
Posted on Apr 23, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Technology | Comments Off on Information Sharing Cyber Security Bill to Go to Senate
The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, a bill that could help electric coops defend against threats, has cleared the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would encourage the sharing of cyber threat information between the federal government and the private sector, including coops. The next step is for the bill to clear the Senate. For more information, click...
USDA Announces Funding for Rural Electric Cooperatives
Posted on Apr 10, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Reliability | Comments Off on USDA Announces Funding for Rural Electric Cooperatives
Today the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced plans to provide nearly $280 million in funding for projects designed to improve rural electric service. The funds, which will address service in rural areas across 13 states, will contribute to the construction of more than 1,900 miles of new or improved transmission and distribution lines. For a complete list of rural...
North Carolina Coop Seeking Addition of Transmission Line in a Wilderness Area
Posted on Mar 11, 2013 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Project Development, Reliability | Comments Off on North Carolina Coop Seeking Addition of Transmission Line in a Wilderness Area
A Rutherford County coop may end up in conflict with ecologists after seeking to run a 12-mile, high-voltage power line through an area of unbroken forest that is currently part of a conservation zone. Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation says the proposed line would prevent brownouts in a rural community of 1,900 families but ecologists counter that the line would run a...
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