Public Power Current

Martin Adams, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s General Manager and Chief Engineer, was recently appointed by President Biden to serve on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, a group of approximately 30 experts nationwide who address issues on national security related to infrastructure and reliability.

Sioux Center Municipal Utilities is taking the next steps toward installing local standby electric generation, the city of Sioux City, Iowa, reported in late March. The project would involve the construction of about 12 megawatts of diesel generation. The Sioux Center City Council voted last month to pursue next steps after taking several months to listen for public feedback and receiving favorable comments.

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted the New York Power Authority license to fly unmanned aircraft systems beyond the visual line of sight of the pilot in command in a one-mile radius in any unrestricted, or Class G, airspace without prior approval. FAA regulations require pilots to maintain visual contact while operating a drone. The waiver allows operators to conduct missions without the requirement for the pilot or an observer to see the unmanned aircraft.

Connected Homes, the residential demand response program offered by Massachusetts Municipal Wholesale Electric Company for municipal light plants in Massachusetts, is successfully piloting broader expansion into the electric vehicle market with Telematics, MMWEC reported on April 10.

The American Public Power Association, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the Edison Electric Institute asked the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to extend by 30 days the comment period on a proposed rule that would require some critical infrastructure operators to report covered cybersecurity incidents and ransomware payments to CISA.

Governor Kathy Hochul on April 5 announced $3.5 million in technical assistance funding is now available to support the development of electric grid modernization project proposals through the state’s Grid Modernization Program.

The Lower Colorado River Authority recently announced plans to double the energy production from the new peaker plant it is building in Central Texas by adding a second generating unit. Each of the units can supply up to 190 megawatts of dispatchable power to the grid.

Michigan public power utility Traverse City Light and Power on April 3 held a community event focused on building electrification. TCLP also invited its community to engage in a comprehensive electrification survey.