The KMEA and KMGA Board of Directors meetings are just around the corner. The meetings will be held in conjunction with KMEA/KMGA Annual Conference on October 23rd in Wichita, KS.
We encourage you to sign up for your attendance by following the link below whether you plan to attend in person or virtual. This helps us ensure we will have quorum for both the KMGA and the KMEA board of directors meeting.
In 2024, Public Natural Gas Week is celebrated from October 6-12. This nationwide event organized by the American Public Gas Association (APGA) aims to generate enthusiasm and awareness about the advantages of public natural gas systems. These systems are locally owned and operated, ensuring that the benefits of natural gas such as affordability, reliability, and efficiency are directly passed on to the community.
Three Mile Island, the site of worst nuclear disaster in the United States, is reopening and will exclusively sell the power to Microsoft as the company searches for energy sources to fuel its AI ambitions.
Constellation Energy announced Friday that its Unit 1 reactor, which closed five years ago, is expected to be revived in 2028, dependent on Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval. Microsoft will purchase the carbon-free energy produced from it to power its data centers to support artificial intelligence.
Financial terms of the 20-year agreement, which Constellation called its largest ever, weren’t disclosed.
“Powering industries critical to our nation’s global economic and technological competitiveness, including data centers, requires an abundance of energy that is carbon-free and reliable every hour of every day, and nuclear plants are the only energy sources that can consistently deliver on that promise,” said Constellation CEO Joe Dominguez in a press release.
Today, the KMEA office in Overland Park hosted the annual gathering of the KMEA Executive Committee, the KMGA Executive Committee, and the Joint Board for Administration. The KMGA Executive Committee, led by President Gus Collins from the City of Winfield, consists of 7 dedicated members. The KMEA Executive Committee, with 9 members, is currently presided […]
On September 13, 2024 the City of Ottawa held a designation ceremony at the city’s auditorium. Their combined cycle turbine was designed as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) recognizing its pivotal role in the evolution of combined cycle power plants.
The combined cycle was the world’s first pre-engineered gas-turbine to enter service. It was the first of only two STAG 103s (steam and gas) made by GE. The second was installed by the City of Hutchinson, Minnesota in 1971. Ottawa logged only about 11,000 operating hours after hitting its 100,000-hr milestone at the end of 1993. This industry icon was retired in place in 2020, after spending two decades in standby service. It was started periodically for training and equipment-preservation purposes. Hutchinson’s STAG 103 was taken out of service in 2019 and now is being dismantled.
The ceremony was well attended and afterwards a tour of the power plant was provided where everyone got to see the STAG unit.
We are excited to share with you more details on our upcoming annual conference in Wichita, Kansas, on October 23rd and 24th at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview. This event is a fantastic opportunity for networking, learning, and sharing best practices with fellow members.
Important Dates:
Conference Dates: October 23-24
Registration Deadline: September 20th
On August 26th, effective at 12:30 p.m., the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) announced an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1 (EEA 1) due to the forecast of high peak loads caused by high temperatures, an increase in resource outages, and low output from wind and other variable energy resources (also known as a low VER forecast) leading into the peak hours for the day. An EEA 1 declaration does not require the public to conserve energy and does not indicate that SPP will be directing controlled service outages. Instead, an EEA 1 is an indication that while SPP has enough generation available to meet demand and fulfill its reserve obligations, conditions exist that could put reserves at risk if they worsen.
Once notified, the KMEA 24-hour Operations group relayed the grid condition to all KMEA cities via email and additionally began contacting by phone all cities with non-registered generation to make them aware of the possibilities of dispatches. All of our registered generation was either online or dispatched for future hours of the day.
On August 14th, the city of Morrill successfully transitioned to its new substation. For the past few years, Morrill had been operating on an old substation purchased from Evergy. Due to the age and disrepair of the facility, Evergy had planned to replace it.
After thoroughly evaluating the costs associated with Evergy replacing the old substation, the city decided to invest in purchasing the old substation and constructing a new one. This decision was driven by the potential rise in wholesale distribution service charges if Evergy proceeded with the replacement.
KMEA/Mid-States provided comprehensive engineering and construction services for the new substation. This included a full steel structure, a new transformer, regulators, reclosers, and all other necessary equipment to ensure a safe and reliable substation for Morrill.
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. — At their August 5-6 meetings, Southwest Power Pool’s (SPP) Regional State Committee and Board of Directors approved increases to the planning reserve margins (PRM) member utilities are required to maintain in support of regional grid reliability. PRM represents the amount of back-up power utilities must have to guard against unplanned conditions or events on the regional power grid.
SPP’s action will further help the region prepare for extreme weather events and other circumstances that lead to higher-than-usual demand for electricity. Such episodes have become increasingly common in recent years, such as with Winter Storm Uri in 2021 and Winter Storm Elliott in 2022.
SPP’s Regional State Committee and board approved minimum requirements of a 36% winter-season PRM and a 16% summer-season PRM, effective beginning summer 2026 and winter 2026/27. This means that load responsible entities in SPP’s region must have access to enough generating capacity to serve their peak consumption with at least 36% margin during the winter season and at least 16% margin during the summer.
Lindsborg, Kansas, a city of about 3,800, is seeking qualified enthusiastic applicants to fill the position of full-time Public Works Director for our growing and diverse community.
Public Works professionals with project management, supervisory experience, and organizational skills are encouraged to apply. Leadership and presentation skills, as well as the ability to work well with diverse organizations within the community are required. The primary job responsibilities include oversight of the activities of the Streets, Water, Electric, and Wastewater Departments, as well as budget preparation and management. This position serves as a member of the city management team to ensure overall effective integration of public works activities with other city functions.
