EPA directed to speed up air quality standards review process
By Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted April 18, 2018
President Trump on April 12 issued a memorandum to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt that, among other things, seeks to speed up the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) review process.
Trump signs bill with significant items for public power; TVA, PMA asset sale opposition grows
By Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted April 17, 2018
A number of significant developments for the public power community occurred in March including President Trump’s signing into law a spending bill that has several key items for public power utilities and a large group of Senators and House members voicing their opposition to a Trump Administration plan to divest the transmission assets held by the Tennessee Valley Authority and three of the Power Marketing Administrations.
Tesla to provide storage battery for BP South Dakota wind farm
By Scott Flowers
APPA
Posted April 17, 2018
BP Wind Energy, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Rolling Thunder I Power Partners LLC, has signed a purchase agreement to install a storage battery at its Titan 1 Wind Farm in South Dakota. The project is the first of its kind in BP’s U.S. operated wind business, said oil and gas producer BP in a news release.
Public power experienced lowest instances of outages: EIA
By Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted April 9, 2018
Public power utility customers experienced the lowest instances of power outages in both frequency and duration in 2016, averaging one outage and less than two hours of interrupted electric service, the Energy Information Administration said on April 5.
Small towns think big on reliability
By Susan Partain
APPA
Posted March 30, 2018
From turning around an aging system to building for growth, smaller utilities share what it means to be reliable electricity providers for their communities.
Battery storage emerging as project financing opportunity: Moody's
By Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
Posted March 29, 2018
Battery storage is increasingly emerging as a project finance opportunity, although the technology “still presents risks and challenges that could affect the development of battery storage on a non-recourse, project-finance basis,” Moody’s Investors Service said in a recent report.
Association report confirms natural gas dominance in U.S. capacity mix
By Scott Sowers
APPA
Posted March 29, 2018
A recently released update to a report issued by the American Public Power Association on America’s generation capacity confirms the dominance of natural gas, accounting for over 43 percent of all generation capacity, with coal contributing just over 23 percent of capacity.
Infrastructure by the people, for the people
By John Godfrey
APPA
Posted March 29, 2018
Our communities deserve the quality of life and stronger economy that better infrastructure provides. That is why, in the last decade, public power utilities have invested nearly $100 billion in distribution, transmission and generation equipment needed to reliably deliver affordable electric power to 22 million homes and businesses in more than 2,000 communities.
Small utility leaders don their seven hats every day
By David L. Blaylock and Meena Dayak
APPA
Posted March 28, 2018
The American Public Power Association’s annual Larry Hobart Seven Hats Award recognizes managers of small utilities serving fewer than 2,500 meters who have lean staffs and must assume multiple roles. Public Power Magazine talked to a few of the award recipients from recent years to understand how they juggle multiple responsibilities and to get their advice for other public power leaders.
Preserving local control and ownership
By Ursula Schryver and Leanne Sinclair
APPA
Posted March 27, 2018
From time to time, outside entities may approach a public power community with a buyout offer for the electric utility, or the city might want a say in the utility’s future ownership options. The idea might stem from fiscal pressures on local government, the expansion of traditional competitors, new market entrants or other reasons.
The best defense against a buyout attempt is a well-run utility and customer-owners who understand the value of public power ownership.