Lawmakers From Alabama Raise Utility Supply Chain Concerns With FEMA
July 25, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 25, 2022
A group of House Representatives from Alabama recently sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in which they voiced concerns over “the dangerous supply chain shortages affecting Alabama’ s electricity sector.”
In a news release, U.S. Representative Jerry Carl (R-AL) noted that the letter was sent to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell regarding supply chain shortages affecting Alabama’s electric cooperatives and public power utilities.
Labor shortages and competition from other industries for steel have made equipment procurement difficult, and as a result, critical electric grid equipment delivery times have increased 20-fold in the past two years, the July 14 letter said.
The lawmakers noted that in 2018, transformers took only three months to be delivered. But delivery delays for transformers are now averaging 18 to 25 months in Alabama, and some manufacturers are not even taking orders, the letter noted.
This is troubling because this year’s Atlantic hurricane season is forecasted to produce hurricanes and tropical storms of above-average strength, and several communities along the Alabama coast have not recovered from Hurricane Sally, the lawmakers told FEMA.
As the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season gets underway, “we urge FEMA to mitigate this issue before a severe hurricane, tropical storm, or other natural disaster impacts communities in Alabama,” the lawmakers said.
The House members said that FEMA must employ mitigation efforts with the local Alabama electric community to ensure critical electric equipment such as transformers, bare wire, meters, and other electric grid equipment will be available “ahead of the first disaster.”
The letter was cosigned by all seven members of Alabama’s House delegation.
A group of federal lawmakers from Florida sent a similar letter to FEMA in June.
APPA Moves To Address Supply Chain Challenges
The American Public Power Association (APPA) is taking a number of actions to address ongoing supply chain challenges.
APPA recently rolled out an additional feature to its eReliability Tracker that is available to all public power utilities and allows for voluntary equipment sharing by matching systems with the same distribution voltages.
In a speech in June at APPA’s National Conference in Nashville, Tenn., Ditto urged member utilities to share their supply chain challenges with APPA so that the trade group can relay details on these challenges to federal partners and discuss how critical burdens on the sector can be alleviated.
In May, APPA convened a supply chain summit that included participation from public power utility officials who discussed their supply chain challenges and mitigation strategies.
APPA also recently finalized a new supply chain issue brief. APPA members can download the issue brief here.
FEMA Announces $2.3 Billion In Funding For Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program
July 25, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 25, 2022
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently announced $2.3 billion in funding for its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program for Fiscal Year 2022 as part of a series of new executive actions unveiled by President Biden on July 20.
This funding will help communities increase resilience to heat waves, drought, wildfires, flood, hurricanes, and other hazards by preparing before disaster strikes, a White House fact sheet on the executive actions said.
In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services on July 20 issued guidance that for the first time expands how the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can promote the delivery of efficient air conditioning equipment, community cooling centers, and more.
In April, the White House released $385 million through LIHEAP to help families with their household energy costs, including summer cooling—part of a record $8 billion that the Administration has provided, boosted by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The White House also announced that the Department of the Interior proposed the first Wind Energy Areas in the Gulf of Mexico.
Biden previously directed the Secretary of the Interior to advance wind energy development in the waters off the mid- and southern Atlantic Coast and Florida’s Gulf Coast.
These actions follow the President’s launch of a new Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership.
Biden made the announcements at a former coal-fired power plant in Brayton Point, Massachusetts that will host a cable manufacturing facility to support the offshore wind industry.
Repowered Wind Project Providing Energy To California CCAs Comes Online
July 23, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 23, 2022
California community choice aggregators Central Coast Community Energy (CCCE) and Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) on July 21 announced the start of commercial operation for the Mountain View Wind Repowering Project, developed by the AES Corporation.
The facility will provide 33.33 megawatts (MW) to CCCE and 33.33 MW to SVCE under a 20- year power purchase agreement (PPA).
The PPA is the result of the third joint SVCE-CCCE solicitation issued in 2020. The PPA was board-approved and executed in April 2021.
Wind repowering is the combined activity of dismantling or refurbishing existing wind turbines and commissioning new ones.
AES removed more than 100 old turbines and replaced them with 16 new Vestas turbines. The repowered 67-MW facility will deliver 257 gigawatt hours per year.
CCCE is a public agency that serves 436,000 customers throughout the Central Coast, including residential, commercial, and agricultural customers in communities located within Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz counties.
SVCE provides electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources to more than 270,000 residential and commercial customers in 13 Santa Clara County jurisdictions.
Glendale Water & Power Launches Off-Peak Electric Vehicle Charging Rebate Program
July 22, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 22, 2022
California public power utility Glendale Water & Power (GWP) announced the launch of a new residential program for electric vehicle (EV) drivers called the Off-Peak EV Charging Rebate program.
The program, in partnership with Sagewell, incentivizes EV owners to charge their vehicles overnight on weekdays between 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m. and any time on the weekend in exchange for a credit of $8 a month paid out once per year.
The program shifts EV load to off-peak hours without any special hardware or separate meter needed. Participants will program their vehicles to charge during off-peak hours, and software algorithms developed by Sagewell will confirm off-peak charging compliance from AMI smart meter data.
Enrollment requires an active GWP residential electric account, and a Level 2 charger or 240-volt charging cable provided by the vehicle manufacturer.
With this program, other communities have seen participants charge off-peak at least 90% of the time, efficiently integrating EV load with the distribution system, GWP said.
EV customers can inquire about GWP’s time-of-use rates to also maximize the benefits of charging at off-peak hours, the utility said.
Arizona’s Southwest Public Power Agency Signs Solar And Storage Power Purchase Agreement
July 22, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 22, 2022
Arizona’s Southwest Public Power Agency Inc. (SPPA) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a BrightNight joint venture (JV) for the delivery of 300 megawatts of solar energy and 600 megawatt-hours of battery storage.
This is the largest renewable power purchase in SPPA’s operational history and will supply 21 of SPPA’s constituent members who are working to meet growing demand and carbon reduction goals.
Power will be supplied from BrightNight’s Box Canyon project located in Pinal County, Arizona, held jointly with BrightNight’s JV partner, Cordelio Power.
The project recently completed its final major permitting milestones and is expected to begin operation in 2025. It will provide approximately one-third of SPPA’s peak capacity needs and 19-21% of SPPA’s energy needs.
The PPA is the result of a competitive solicitation.
Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Enters Into Solar Plus Storage Agreement
July 22, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 22, 2022
Convergent Energy + Power on July 18 announced that its Puerto Rico subsidiary has entered into a power purchase and operating agreement with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) for a 100-megawatt (MW) solar generation project paired with a 55-MW battery to be located in Coamo, Puerto Rico.
The solar-plus-storage system will be owned and operated by Convergent’s Puerto Rico subsidiary, Convergent Coamo.
Subject to satisfaction of customary conditions, the system is currently expected to come online in 2024 and is part of a larger plan to accelerate Puerto Rico’s strategic clean energy transition.
Puerto Rico has set a goal of achieving 40% renewable energy by 2025 and 100% renewable energy by 2050.
Convergent’s large-scale solar-plus-storage system is among the first awarded by PREPA in response to its multi-tranche solicitation effort to modernize Puerto Rico’s electric grid.
Company Announces U.S. Solar Roof Manufacturing Facility In Georgetown, Texas
July 22, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 22, 2022
GAF Energy has signed a lease and begun construction on a 450,000 square-foot facility in Georgetown, Texas, a public power community. Construction is expected to be completed in June 2023.
Once improvements are complete, the new facility will serve as the company’s second U.S. manufacturing center for its solar roof, Timberline Solar, the only roof system to directly integrate solar technology into traditional roofing processes and materials.
GAF Energy plans to hire 265 employees in high tech jobs over the next 10 years at the Georgetown facility. The total capital investment for the project is estimated to be over $100 million in that time.
GAF Energy will receive a total combined incentive package worth more than $3.24 million from local jurisdictions, including:
- A City of Georgetown property tax abatement for 10 years of 75 percent for business personal property and 50 percent for real property, valued at $2.35 million;
- A five-year job creation grant with a total value of $395,000, paid by the Georgetown Economic Development Corporation;
- The retirement of renewable energy credits to offset the company’s electric usage for five years to certify the facility as using 100 percent renewable energy, valued at $500,000.
The net 10-year economic impact to Georgetown is estimated to be $3.75 million.
Owensboro Municipal Utilities Seeks Bids For Cost Of Service And Rate Design Study
July 22, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 22, 2022
Kentucky’s Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU) is soliciting proposals for the performance and development of a cost of service and rate design study through a request for proposals (RFP) issued on July 18.
OMU is contemplating a cost-of-service study with rate design for its electric utility and a cost-of-service study with rate design for its water utility with the option of performing a five-year financial plan for each study.
Both studies’ emphases will be to provide funding for operating costs, reasonable operating reserves after funding operations, debt service, and capital projects; determine actual cost of providing utility service to each customer class to identify separate fixed and variable costs that are specific to each customer class as well as a development of a five-year financial plan identifying projected future revenue requirement patterns.
Click here for the RFP.
OMU is a public power, water and telecommunications municipal utility serving the City of Owensboro, Ky., currently serving approximately 28,000 electric meters and 26,000 water meters in Daviess County, Ky.
New Participants In Western Markets Exploratory Group Include Public Power Utilities
July 22, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 22, 2022
Members of the Western Markets Exploratory Group (WMEG) announced on July 21 that they have expanded their membership by adding eleven new participants to the current roster of fourteen utilities totaling twenty-five member participants across the west. Several of the new participants are public power utilities.
WMEG, which was created in 2021, is exploring the potential for a staged approach to new market services including day-ahead energy sales, transmission system expansion, power supply and grid solutions, and existing and emerging public policies.
The eleven new members added to the group are: Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Avista Corp., Balancing Authority of Northern California, Bonneville Power Administration, Chelan County PUD No. 1, El Paso Electric Company, PUD #2 of Grant County, NorthWestern Energy, Tacoma Power, Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association, and Western Area Power Administration.
Current WMEG membership includes 14 transmission owning utilities across the Desert Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and the Mountain West and includes Xcel Energy Colorado, Arizona Public Service (APS), Black Hills Energy, Idaho Power, Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, NV Energy, PacifiCorp, Platte River Power Authority, Portland General Electric, Puget Sound Energy, Salt River Project, Seattle City Light, Tucson Electric Power, and Public Service New Mexico.
Many of the utilities in the group are currently participating in energy imbalance markets and the ongoing development of day-ahead markets.
WMEG is developing pathways to a Western organized market that would allow participants to develop an initial market design proposal and roadmap up to and including operating as a Regional Transmission Organization, depending upon what each state and/or utility determines is in the best interest of their customers.
Utilicast, an energy consulting company, will assist WMEG in developing a roadmap that will identify market requirements, interdependencies, and timelines. WMEG expects these work products will be available towards the end of 2022.
Bureau of Land Management Approves Arizona-California Transmission Line Project
July 21, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
July 21, 2022
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has give the green light for construction of the Ten West Link Transmission Line project, which will facilitate increased renewable energy development and delivery in Arizona and California.
The BLM’s Notice to Proceed authorizes Delaney Colorado River Transmission LLC (DCR) to begin construction of the 125-mile, 500-kilovolt transmission line that will connect existing substations near Tonopah, Arizona and Blythe, California.
The Ten West Link route traverses a region with some of the highest potential for utility-scale solar photovoltaic energy development in the nation, BLM said on July 14.
The project “will provide critical transmission infrastructure to support the development of future utility-scale solar energy resources and will boost the reliability of the bulk power system for millions of customers in Central Arizona and Southern California,” it said.
The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2022.
DCR Transmission, LLC is a joint venture led by affiliates of Starwood Energy Group, a private investment firm based in Greenwich, Conn., which specializes in energy infrastructure investments.