FERC Issues Order on CIP 5 Reliability Standards
Posted on Mar 20, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on FERC Issues Order on CIP 5 Reliability Standards
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently granted requests for clarification of, but denied requests for rehearing of, Order No. 791, which approved version 5 of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) 5 Reliability Standards. The requests were filed by several trade associations, including the National Rural Electric...
NRECA Responds to WSJ Article on Grid Security
Posted on Mar 17, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on NRECA Responds to WSJ Article on Grid Security
Jo Ann Emerson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), issued remarks on the electric coop industry’s efforts to protect the nation’s critical transmission system after a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article released sensitive information on the subject. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently ordered the North American Electric Reliability...
Dairyland Adding Commercial Solar Project
Posted on Mar 13, 2014 in Climate Change, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Dairyland Adding Commercial Solar Project
Dairyland Power Cooperative (Dairyland), based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, has signed an agreement with Clean Energy Collective to purchase renewable energy produced by a planned 520-kW solar installation. The new solar facility, located in Westby, Wisconsin, will be developed, owned and managed by Clean Energy Collective. This project, along with Dairyland’s first commercial solar...
Kentucky PSC Approves Environmental Upgrades
Posted on Feb 21, 2014 in Environmental, Rates, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Kentucky PSC Approves Environmental Upgrades
The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) approved a $15 million project to reduce emissions at a coal-fired generation plant owned by East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC). EKPC will recover the costs of the project via an environmental surcharge paid by the customers of EKPC’s distribution cooperative members. The Kentucky PSC found that the upgrades will provide EKPC with...
Iowa Nuclear Plant to Face Heightened NRC Scrutiny
Posted on Feb 20, 2014 in Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Iowa Nuclear Plant to Face Heightened NRC Scrutiny
The Duane Arnold Energy Center near Palo, Iowa, will undergo increased inspections and heightened Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) scrutiny after backup equipment problems were discovered at the plant in 2013. While public safety was never threatened, the problems prompted additional NRC oversight. The Des Moines Register has the full story.
South Carolina Coops Hit Hard by Winter Weather
Posted on Feb 18, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Reliability | Comments Off on South Carolina Coops Hit Hard by Winter Weather
Rural South Carolina was hit especially hard by the winter storms that recently swept across the Southeast, with most of the damage in areas served by The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina. At one point, as many as 346,000 South Carolina residents were without power after more than an inch of ice coated trees and power lines in some areas. Click here for more.
New White Paper Calls for Focus on Grid Stability
Posted on Feb 13, 2014 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on New White Paper Calls for Focus on Grid Stability
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska recently issued a white paper warning that grid stability is complicated by coal plant retirements, environmental regulations and requirements for integrating renewable energy resources. Senator Murkowski’s paper, which has been praised by some in the industry, calls for policymakers to place grid reliability and affordability at the front of their...
Droughts Threaten 2014 Hydro Production
Posted on Feb 11, 2014 in Climate Change, Environmental, Reliability | Comments Off on Droughts Threaten 2014 Hydro Production
Total water flow to the Northwest river system is now the 11th lowest total since recordkeeping started in 1960. This lingering drought in the West is causing a decreased output of hydro production and is likely to persist or intensify through the end of April in parts of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Nevada. In those states, electric coops rely heavily on hydropower. ...
West Virginia Water Contamination Brings Company Safety Practices into Focus
Posted on Feb 6, 2014 in Environmental, Legislative & Politics, Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on West Virginia Water Contamination Brings Company Safety Practices into Focus
At least twenty putative class actions asserting claims of negligence, gross negligence and strict liability for ultra-hazardous activity have been filed naming Freedom Industries Inc., the company that owns the site responsible for leaking 7,500 gallons of coal-cleaning chemical into West Virginia’s Elk River. The region’s U.S. Attorney has also pledged to take action if federal...
Mississippi Introduces Bill Requiring Payment of Revenues to Local Municipalities
Posted on Jan 22, 2014 in Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Mississippi Introduces Bill Requiring Payment of Revenues to Local Municipalities
The Mississippi State Senate has introduced Senate Bill 2567, which would require electric cooperatives to pay a percentage of their gross revenues from sales to industrial customers to the municipality in which the customers are located. To read the text of this bill, click here.
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