Eversheds Sutherland Coop Law Blog
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Electric Cooperatives Take Four of the Top Five Spots on the Annual J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Poll

The 2022 J.D. Power Electric Utility Residential Customer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 102,879 online interviews conducted from last January through November, and electric cooperatives dominated the top spots again. Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation (EMC), headquartered in Cumming, Georgia, was the highest-ranking electric utility overall and Jackson EMC placed second.
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New Power Supply Partnership Between CORE Electric Cooperative and Invenergy

CORE Electric Cooperative (CORE), Colorado’s largest electric distribution cooperative, and Invenergy have entered into a twenty-year agreement to provide CORE with over 1.2 terawatt-hours of renewable energy per year.
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New $9.7 Billion U.S. Department of Agriculture Program to Focus on Renewables

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is in the process of designing a new renewables-focused program to assist rural electric cooperatives with the purchase of renewable energy, renewable energy systems, zero-emission systems and carbon capture and storage systems.
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Missouri Department of Economic Development Awards SEMO Electric Cooperative $16.6 Million for Broadband Development

Through the American Rescue Plan Act, the Missouri Department of Economic Development awarded $261 million to 60 recipients. SEMO Electric Cooperative was allocated $16,602,060 for three broadband projects in Butler and Stoddard Counties.
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North Dakota Generation and Transmission Cooperative’s Battery Rate Delivers Member Savings, Technology

In 2020, Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin) incorporated a member-owned trial battery rate into its rate schedule to permit its all-requirements contract members to test energy storage technology to reduce peak demand costs. The rate provision allows for up to 150 kilowatts of battery storage per distribution cooperative, and allows the cooperatives to decide when to charge and discharge the batteries. Corn Belt Power Cooperative, one of two Basin members utilizing the incentive, expects to avoid peak demand charges for up to six hours and recover its $3.5 million investment by...
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Electric Cooperatives and Broadband Assets at Risk of Cyberattacks

Director of threat intelligence for Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs, Mark Dehus, discusses ways electric cooperatives can be protected from system disruption or ransom by attackers.
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Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative CEO Urges Congress to Prioritize Broadband in Rural America

As congress weighs programs to include in the new Farm Bill, electric cooperatives have weighed in.  Aaron Young, president and co-CEO of 17,000 member Tri-County Rural Electric Cooperative, recently said that rural broadband which connects every home, business and community with reliable internet service should be a priority in the bill when speaking at a Farm Bill listening session held by the House Agriculture Committee.
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Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative Spends Big on Storm Resilience

Jefferson Davis Electric Cooperative (JDEC), one of the largest cooperatives in the state of Louisiana, is taking the lessons from Hurricane Laura, which wreaked havoc on the state’s electricity grid in 2020, to heart. JDEC is spending $340 million dollars to weatherproof its systems through measures like replacing wooden transmission poles with steel and elevating substations.
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Flathead Electric Cooperative Adds Second Engine to Gas Energy Plant

Flathead Electric Cooperative created Montana’s first methane gas-to-energy project at the county landfill in 2009 through a collaboration with the county. The project has been so successful that the cooperative is adding a second engine to the facility, which will double its output to power about 3,200 homes.
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Cooperatives in Colorado File Complaint Against Provider Alleging Imprudent Supply Plans Before Winter Storm

Four Colorado electric cooperatives, Core Electric Cooperative, Holy Cross Energy, Yampa Electric and Grand Valley Power, have filed a complaint arguing that Xcel Energy, the state’s largest electricity provider, did not follow its own supply plans leading to high gas prices during Winter Storm Uri. The cooperatives are asking for the return of $6.9 million in fuel charges.
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Solar United Neighbors Announced Group Buy Program for Connexus Energy

Nonprofit Solar United Neighbors announced a group buy program where homeowners and business owners who are members of Connexus Energy, one of the nation’s largest electric cooperatives, can purchase solar systems. The program will allow members to leverage their numbers to purchase individual solar systems for competitive prices.
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Electric Cooperatives Discuss Top Policy Priorities for 2023

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association held a recent Question and Answer session to outline its 2023 policy goals aimed at helping pass legislation benefiting cooperatives and ensuring the new laws are implemented as intended.
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Basin Electric Power Cooperative Announced Power Purchase Agreement with ENGIE North America for 200 Megawatts of Wind Energy

Basin Electric Power Cooperative announced a twenty-five year, 200 megawatt power purchase agreement with ENGIE North America’s North Bend Wind facility in South Dakota, expected to come online in late 2023. The North Bend facility will power 73,000 homes and reduce the region’s carbon emissions by 620,000 tonnes per year.
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Basin Electric Power Cooperative Seeks to Expand Natural Gas Generation

In part to respond to a growing data center industry in McKenzie County, North Dakota, Basin Electric Power Cooperative has sought state approval to build Pioneer Generation Station Phase IV, an expansion of their existing 242 megawatt natural gas-fired facility. The $670 million project would increase the facility’s capacity by 141%.
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