USDA Invests $598 Million in Rural Electric Infrastructure After Severe Weather
Posted on Mar 16, 2021
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today a $598 million rural electric loan package to build or improve electric infrastructure in 11 states through the Electric Loan Program. This funding will benefit 460,000 rural residents and businesses in Arizona, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia. Several of the loans will help expand smart grid technologies.
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VEC and GMP Announce Broadband Deployment Program
Posted on Mar 15, 2021
Vermont Electric Co-op (VEC) and Green Mountain Power (GMP) each launched a Broadband Deployment Program to help rural Vermonters get connected to broadband quickly and cost-effectively. The plans approved Friday by the Vermont Public Utility Commission lower the cost for broadband providers to connect the hardest-to-serve customers by offering up to $2,000 per unserved location for infrastructure connection costs. The program aims to create greater equity for customers to access the economic, educational and social benefits that come with connectivity, including the ability to choose...
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NRECA Urges NTIA to Award Grants for Tribal Land Broadband Expansion
Posted on Mar 12, 2021
The National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) is currently formulating its Tribal Broadband Connectivity Grants Program, which was created by the pandemic relief passed by Congress in December 2020. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is recommending that NTIA implement the Program with flexibility and efficiency, offering grants to tribal communities even If they were covered by previous broadband auctions.
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J. Andrew Don Selected as CEO of CFC
Posted on Mar 12, 2021
Effective May 3, 2021, J. Andrew Don will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC). Don currently serves as CFC’s Chief Financial Officer.
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Texas Coop Requests Suspension of ERCOT Invoicing, Billing, Collection
Posted on Mar 5, 2021
Rayburn Country Electric Cooperative asked Texas state regulators to order the Electric Reliability Corporation of Texas (ERCOT) to suspend invoicing, billing and collection of charges related to February’s power outages after it was discovered that ERCOT may have charged $16 billion more than it should have during the mid-February winter storm. The coop says charges “stand to cause Texans financial devastation, with sky-high bills from the basic failure of the energy markets.”
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Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. Files for Bankruptcy
Posted on Mar 1, 2021
Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (Brazos) recently filed bankruptcy in federal court in Houston, citing a disputed $1.8 billion bill from the state’s grid operator, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Brazos is one of dozens of electricity providers in Texas facing enormous charges stemming from severe cold snap last month. Unusually frigid temperatures knocked out nearly half of the state’s power plants in mid-February, leaving 4.3 million people without heat or light for days and bursting water pipes that damaged homes and businesses. Brazos and others that committed to...
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Hoosier Energy and Capital Dynamics Sign 150 MW Solar Energy Power Purchase Agreement
Posted on Feb 22, 2021
Capital Dynamics CEI, the Clean Energy Infrastructure (CEI) business line of Capital Dynamics, an independent global private asset management firm, and Hoosier Energy recently announced the signing of a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Under the terms of the PPA, Hoosier Energy will purchase 150 MW of the power generated by the Ratts 2 Solar Project, a CEI-owned greenfield solar project that is currently being developed in Knox County, Indiana.
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NRECA Asks Federal Agency for Rural-Friendly Broadband Grants Rules
Posted on Feb 22, 2021
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) recently sent a letter to the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) arguing that broadband grants worth $300 million should only go toward proven technologies, and some rural areas should remain eligible for this funding even if they have won awards in other specific federal efforts to bridge the digital divide. The February 17 letter incorporates concerns that regions covered by initial winners in the Federal Communication Commission’s Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction and similar programs...
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Maryland Electric Cooperative Launches Broadband Subsidiary
Posted on Feb 19, 2021
After much debate over removing Choptank Electric Cooperative (Choptank) from the oversight of the Maryland Public Service Commission, Choptank has launched Choptank Fiber, a wholly-owned broadband subsidiary. Choptank Fiber will take a community-by-community approach to installing broadband, using the monthly subscription revenue of established communities to invest in the development of new communities.
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SEEM Members Submit Filing for Proposed Advanced Bilateral Market Platform
Posted on Feb 15, 2021
The Southeast Energy Exchange Market (SEEM) members recently filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the approval of an automated, intra-hour energy exchange that aims to lower costs to customers and optimize renewable energy resources. The new SEEM platform will facilitate sub-hourly, bilateral trading, allowing participants to buy and sell power close to the time the energy is consumed, utilizing available unreserved transmission. Founding members of SEEM are expected to include Associated Electric Cooperative, Dalton Utilities, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Duke Energy...
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Coops, Wireless and Partnerships Likeliest Ways to Connect Rural America
Posted on Feb 12, 2021
A recent report produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond shows that coops, wireless and partnerships are the best ways to bring broadband to rural America. The biggest challenges to the cooperative approach are ambiguous laws regarding broadband provision by coops.
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Oklahoma Court Confirms Big Businesses Must Stick with Electric Cooperative
Posted on Feb 12, 2021
A large industrial Oklahoma cooperative customer brought suit seeking to add a well powered by Northwestern Electric Cooperative to an energy supply it receives from an investor-owned utility as a cost-saving measure. An Oklahoma Court confirmed the order of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission keeping the cooperative as the power provider.
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NRECA International to Operate Nigerian Utility
Posted on Feb 9, 2021
NRECA International has signed a $10 million, five-year contract to take over the operation of a struggling distribution utility in south-central Nigeria and transform it into a profitable company that provides high-quality service to its customers.
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Two More Georgia Cooperatives to Offer Broadband
Posted on Feb 9, 2021
Central Georgia Electric Membership Corp. and Southern Rivers Energy, two Georgia electric cooperatives, say they and partners will invest more than $200 million to extend broadband internet to more than 80,000 customers in 18 counties between Atlanta and Macon.
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