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Recently in Public Power Current
To find earlier stories in Public Power Current, browse by popular topics or contact us at News@PublicPower.org.
Grid Modernization
The Biden-Harris Administration on May 28 launched a federal-state modern grid deployment initiative.
Transmission
Oregon utility Portland General Electric on May 28 said it signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Grid United and ALLETE, Inc. in the development of the North Plains Connector, an approximately 415-mile high-voltage direct-current transmission line to be constructed with endpoints near Bismarck, North Dakota and Colstrip, Montana.
Customer Service
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. When Hurricane Florence hit in September 2018, wreaking damage in the Carolinas, Duke Energy sent customers over 7 million messages enabled by Message Broadcast.
Reliability
The following is a transcript of the May 27, 2024, episode of Public Power Now. Learn more about subscribing to Public Power Now at Publicpower.org/Podcasts. Some quotes may have been edited for clarity. Paul Ciampoli Welcome to the latest episode of Public Power Now. I'm Paul Ciampoli, APPA’s News
Bonds and Financing
The Lower Colorado River Authority Board of Directors recently approved a business plan of about $577 million and authorized capital investments of about $1.32 billion for energy, water, and public service projects in fiscal year 2025.
Electricity Markets
After a yearlong implementation effort, 10 new members including public power utilities successfully joined operations of the Northwest Power Pool Reserve Sharing Group on May 1.
Environment
Arizona public power utility Salt River Project and Arizona State University have developed a new approach for estimating the water benefits of forest thinning treatments by creating a model that is being recognized as a leading-edge method for analyzing forest thinning’s impacts on water, SRP said
Electricity Markets
Florida public power utility JEA has hired Jody Brooks as chief administrative officer to lead oversight of the utility’s critical infrastructure protection and compliance, audit services, corporate records retention, and other areas.