Minnesota public power utility Rochester Public Utilities, Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency, Xcel Energy and Dairyland Power Cooperative recently unveiled plans to build a new transmission line in southern Minnesota. The new infrastructure will, among other things, reduce transmission system congestion, Xcel Energy said.

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 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.

Mike Muirhead, Public Utilities Director for the public power community of Garden City, Kansas, detailed a recently completed master plan for the city’s utility, as well as the steps that the Garden City utility has taken to improve reliability for the city while he has served as Public Utilities Director.

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.

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.