NAESB Is Developing Standards To Aid Extreme Weather Electric-Gas Coordination
January 9, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
January 9, 2022
The North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) is developing standards to aid the coordination between gas and electric markets during periods of extreme weather.
In several regions of the country, extreme cold weather can present challenges between the need for natural gas as a fuel for space heating and for electric power generation. The potential impact of cold weather on the electric power sector was most recently demonstrated last February when winter storm Uri left millions without power.
On Dec. 9, NAESB’s board of directors voted unanimously to support the addition of a new standards development project to its 2022 work plans aimed at improving electric and gas market coordination.
NAESB’s Gas Electric Harmonization Committee has been meeting since June to discuss potential activities that the organization could undertake to complement the joint inquiry of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and the regional entities into 2021 Cold Weather Grid Operations following Winter Storm Uri.
Staff from FERC and NERC in September issued a report of preliminary findings and recommendations related to Uri, which affected the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Southwest Power Pool (SPP), Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and other regions.
NAESB’s new standards development project, as presented by SPP, is intended to build upon the organization’s existing body of standards and to focus on commercial information sharing between critical parties during impending extreme weather conditions.
NAESB is in the process of making assignments to initiate its standards development within its subcommittees supporting the wholesale and retail gas and electric markets and will be working with FERC, NERC and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners to align its efforts with the recommendations included in its finalized staff report.
NAESB provides an industry forum that convenes wholesale and retail natural gas and electric market participants, regulators, and other stakeholders to develop business practice standards that underpin the commercial transactions of the markets.
Colorado Springs Utilities To Build Next-Generation Fiber Network
January 8, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 8, 2022
Colorado Springs Utilities on Jan. 7 unveiled its plan to construct its next-generation, city-wide fiber network.
The network will enhance utility operations, allowing the public power utility to better serve its customers, and enable multi-gigabit internet connectivity to every home and business in Colorado Springs.
The network will be built to reach every address within the Colorado Springs, Colo,, city limits and provide the community-owned utility with more efficient and effective delivery of utility services to its customers, it noted.
The fiber network infrastructure will service the utility’s needs while making excess fiber available for lease. The cost to build this network will be significantly offset by a long-term lease agreement with a national fiber internet provider, Ting Internet, and other organizations on the utility’s non-exclusive network.
Construction of the entire fiber network will begin in 2022.
When the fiber network is complete in 2028, Colorado Springs will be one of the largest gig-cities in the country.
“The speed, reliability and security of this network will enhance Colorado Springs’ ability to attract and retain new businesses and jobs, pursue new educational opportunities and enhance connectivity in every neighborhood,” the utility said.
Ting Internet expects to provide fiber internet access to local businesses and residents starting in 2023.
To learn more about the project, click here.
JEA Names Paul McFadden As Its First Director Of Diversity, Equity And Inclusion
January 7, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 7, 2022
Jacksonville, Fla.-based public power utility JEA on Jan. 6 announced the hiring of Paul McFadden as its first director of diversity, equity and inclusion. McFadden assumed the role on Jan. 3, 2022.
“JEA created this role as a fundamental building block in growing diversity within the company and cultivating stronger connections with diverse groups in our community,” the utility said in a news release.
In his new role, McFadden will provide strategic direction in executing JEA’s vision of sustaining an inclusive, respectful, and diverse culture, JEA said.
McFadden has a breadth of experience at JEA in human resources, and most recently, he served as a human resources business partner for the utility. In that role, he served as a consultant to management on human resources-related issues and worked with JEA’s human resources department to find workable solutions.
“JEA continues to build a culture that is firmly rooted in courtesy and respect,” said JEA’s Managing Director and CEO Jay Stowe in a statement. “We are committed to creating an atmosphere that is diverse, respectful and inclusive. This is a big step in our journey, and we’re happy to have Paul at the helm.”
In an October 2021 episode of Public Power Now, Monique Earl, who leads the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Nancy Harvey, the New York Power Authority’s Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, highlighted diversity and equity initiatives underway at LADWP and NYPA.
Santee Cooper Formally Joins Southeast Energy Exchange Market
January 7, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 7, 2022
Santee Cooper, South Carolina’s state-owned electric and water utility, has joined the Southeast Energy Exchange Market effective Jan. 4, 2022.
“After nearly two years working with the other SEEM member utilities, Santee Cooper is pleased to formally join the group. We are excited by the opportunities SEEM will offer our customers, including better capability for integrating renewables and savings from lower fuel costs and improved efficiencies,” said Charlie Duckworth, Santee Cooper Deputy CEO and Chief Innovation and Planning Officer, in a statement.
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.
Participation in SEEM is open to other entities that meet the appropriate requirements.
Other founding members of SEEM are expected to include Associated Electric Cooperative, Dalton Utilities, Dominion Energy South Carolina, Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, Georgia System Operations Corporation, Georgia Transmission Corporation, LG&E and KU Energy, MEAG Power, N.C. Municipal Power Agency No. 1, NCEMC, Oglethorpe Power Corp., PowerSouth, Southern Company and TVA.
The founding members represent nearly 20 entities in parts of 11 states with more than 160,000 megawatts (summer capacity; winter capacity is nearly 180,000 MW) across two time zones.
California Community Choice Aggregators Seek Clean Energy Supply Proposals
January 7, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 7, 2022
Three California community choice aggregators (CCAs) have partnered to jointly issue a request for proposals (RFP) for new clean energy resources.
The RFP, which was issued by Central Coast Community Energy, Silicon Valley Clean Energy and Sonoma Clean Power, solicits proposals from qualified and experienced individuals or firms to develop non-polluting energy sources to meet California’s new Mid-Term Reliability procurement mandate in addition to each respective CCA’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), greenhouse gas emission reductions and reliability requirements.
The CCAs are seeking to procure resources to satisfy the requirements of a California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) order that includes a procurement mandate in response to more extreme weather events and to replace power from the Diablo Canyon nuclear facility, which will be decommissioned in 2025.
As a result, the CPUC ordered all load serving entities in the state, including CCAs, to purchase 11,500 megawatts of new, clean resources to come online by 2026.
The CPUC decision requires the three CCAs to procure a combined total of more than 600 MW of additional Net Qualifying Capacity (NQC) to come online before June 1, 2026. NQC refers to the ability of a power plant to meet the reliability needs of the grid, particularly during peak, evening hours.
Eligible resources for the RFP include non-fossil fuel sources such as solar, wind, renewable plus storage hybrids, and demand response; zero-emitting resources available during peak evening hours, such as energy storage; firm generation resources that are not weather dependent, such as geothermal; and long duration energy storage that is able to discharge over at least an eight-hour period.
Proposals are due by 5 p.m. PT on Jan. 31, 2022, and the RFP is available here.
Central Coast Community Energy serves more than 400,000 customers throughout California’s Central Coast, including residential, commercial and agricultural customers in communities located within Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz counties.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy provides clean electricity from renewable and carbon-free sources to more than 270,000 residential and commercial customers in 13 Santa Clara County jurisdictions.
Sonoma Clean Power is the public power provider for Sonoma and Mendocino counties, serving a population of about a half-million.
KYMEA And Partners Send Relief To Western Kentucky In Wake Of Tornadoes
January 5, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 5, 2022
The Kentucky Municipal Energy Agency (KYMEA) and a number of partners have provided $30,000 in direct relief and contributions to a Kentucky tornado relief fund in the wake of tornadoes that hit the western part of the state on December 10, 2021.
KYMEA has partnered with nFront Consulting, Spiegel & McDiarmid, BKD, Rubin & Hays, and LightChange Technologies to provide the funds to the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund.
KYMEA noted that it is also working with its members, the American Public Power Association, and the Kentucky Municipal Utility Association to provide storm restoration to the hardest-hit areas.
In September of 2015, ten municipal electric utilities entered into an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement creating KYMEA, a joint public agency.
Additional information about the tornado relief efforts is available here.
NYPA Deploys Technology To Monitor, Improve Transmission Capacity
January 5, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 5, 2022
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) plans to deploy light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology to monitor the health of its grid and to help it unlock transmission capacity to enable more renewable energy to reach the grid.
The LiDAR sensors will be deployed to monitor NYPA’s 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines in Franklin and Clinton counties in upstate New York to provide insight into conductor health and to detect in real time anomalies and potential risks.
The technology, developed by LineVision, uses sensors mounted to transmission towers and combines an electromagnetic field sensor with a scanning optical sensor using LiDAR. The real time data provided by the technologies delivers data on conductor positions and temperatures and alerts on anomalous behavior to help ensure safe clearances are maintained.
The analytics platform connected to the sensors also evaluates the condition of conductors, helping to determine when line maintenance is required, and can safely increase existing transmission capacity through the application of dynamic line ratings.
NYPA says recent studies have shown grid-enhancing technologies can help double renewable energy integration, while dynamic line ratings have shown the ability to increase capacity on power lines by as much as 40 percent.
NYPA said the new technology will also give it real-time situational awareness of grid conditions by measuring blowout and phase-to-phase distance, providing alerts on dangerous conditions that can cause wildfires or on anomalous and damaging events such as high amplitude vibrations and icing.
NYPA’s Moses-Willis-Plattsburgh transmission line is vulnerable to vibrations and icing because of its location in the northern most portion of the state near the Canadian border.
The grid sensing project is being supported by a $376,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Smart Grid program for which NYPA and LineVision jointly applied.
In 2019, NYPA received a $125,000 grant from the American Public Power Association’s Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Development (DEED) program for a project that integrated LiDAR technology into an existing in-house drone program for inspecting transmission rights of way for vegetation management.
In California, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is using LiDAR as part of a suite of tools to help it manage vegetation on its right of ways to help reduce the risk of wildfires.
In Arizona, Salt River Project is using LiDAR to help monitor forest and reservoir conditions of its water resources.
Chelan County PUD To Supply Hydropower To Avista
January 5, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 5, 2022
Washington State’s Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD) and investor-owned utility Avista have finalized a contract for hydropower from the PUD’s two hydro projects on the Columbia River.
The 20-year contract will increase Avista’s carbon-free resources toward its 2030 renewable energy goals, as well as contributes flexible capacity to identified needs in Washington and Idaho. The acquisition closes out Avista’s 2020 Renewable request for proposals.
The competitively priced contract provides Avista with 5% of the output from the PUD’s Rock Island and Rocky Reach hydropower projects from 2026 through 2030 and increases to 10% of the output from these projects in 2031-2045.
The contract includes both carbon-free energy attributes provided by hydropower as well as dispatchable capacity to help Avista meet peak energy needs during high customer usage times.
Navajo Tribal Utility Authority Seeks Power Supply Proposals
January 4, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2022
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA) recently issued a request for proposals (RFP) seeking power and energy for the Navajo Nation.
The RFP, which was issued in December 2021, seeks a three-year, five-year, and seven-year firm supply of power and energy to be delivered to the trading hubs at the Four Corners/Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Shiprock and WAPA Pinnacle Peak delivery points.
Proposals are due by Feb. 4, 2022 and the RFP is available for download here.
Arizona-based NTUA was established on Jan. 22, 1959, to address the absence of utilities on the 27,000 square-mile Navajo Nation. Since then, NTUA has grown into a self-sustaining, not-for-profit, successful tribally-owned enterprise.
NTUA is organized for the operation, maintenance and expansion of electric, communications, natural gas, water, wastewater and generation, including photovoltaic (solar) services for the Navajo people at a low and reasonable cost.
In addition to providing multi-utility services, other objectives of NTUA are to promote employment opportunities on the Navajo Nation and to improve the health and welfare of the residents of the Navajo Nation while improving the standard of life.
Financing Package Closes For Solar Project That Will Supply Energy To AMEA Members
January 4, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 4, 2022
Lightsource bp has successfully closed on a $100 million financing package for its 130-megawatt Black Bear Solar energy project in Montgomery County, Alabama.
The power contract secured with Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) played a critical role in enabling investment and financing of this new energy infrastructure for Alabama, Lightsource bp noted.
AMEA, located in Montgomery, Alabama, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve some 350,000 customers in the cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga, and Tuskegee.
The tax equity investment for the project was secured from Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank. Debt for the project was provided by Spain’s Banco Santander and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, a global financial group headquartered in Tokyo. The balance of the equity requirements will be invested by Lightsource bp.
Black Bear Solar will supply energy to AMEA’s 11 member utilities located across the state. The project will also contribute almost $7 million in property tax revenue to county schools over the first 35 years of the project life.