Public Power Current

SE Municipal Solar LLC in Nebraska has been selected to move forward to receive nearly $30 million to build eight solar photovoltaic generation facilities totaling 18.72 megawatts. The facilities will be located in the public power communities of Alliance, Gering, Sidney, Imperial, Ansley, Pender, Crete, and Stuart, Nebraska.

Staff with the Omaha Public Power District recently shared a post-storm report with the Nebraska public power utility’s Board of Directors that detailed the extensive effort made in response to a storm that knocked out power to more than 221,000 customers.

Public power utilities across the U.S. were recognized by J.D. Power in its U.S. Electric Utility Brand Appeal Index Study.

City officials representing public power utility Idaho Falls Power recently broke ground on the city’s latest power generation facility and clean energy research park.

A new 93,000-square-foot research facility in Washington State “that will accelerate the development of energy storage for the nation’s electrical grid and transportation sector” was dedicated on Aug. 13, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory reported.

Sacramento, California-based public power utility SMUD on Aug. 15 reported that its newest substation “recently attracted national recognition for its bold, geometric architecture and innovative lighting installations,” with recognitions from the Sacramento Business Journal, Association of Outdoor Lighting Professionals and the Sacramento Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineering.

Tennessee public power utility EPB has named Janet Rehberg to serve as president of its recently established Strategic Initiatives business unit.

Power outages, wildfires, rooftop solar systems, and demand response programs create a need for utilities to communicate with customers quickly and clearly. Utilizing omnichannel communication systems can help ensure customers stay in the know and also help utilities respond to the many outage-related calls and emails from customers.