Archive for category: General Information

As data centers continue to expand across the U.S., their energy needs are skyrocketing—creating new challenges in securing natural gas pipeline capacity. Historically, data centers relied on renewable sources and simple utility hookups to meet their power demands. But with the rise of AI and cloud computing, these facilities now require massive amounts of energy, prompting a shift in how they source fuel.

Industry experts at the recent LDC Gas Forums’ Nat Gas to Power event highlighted a critical issue: communication gaps between data center developers and midstream companies.

Pipeline operators, however, remain cautious. They prefer long-term contracts to justify building new infrastructure, and competition for gas supply is fierce, especially with LNG facilities vying for the same resources. This means data centers are entering a highly competitive market for natural gas.

One potential solution lies in leveraging underutilized firm capacity held by utilities. Many utilities maintain excess capacity to meet peak demand, which often goes unused 90% of the time. By creating “synthetic firm” solutions—combining multiple pipelines and interruptible options—developers could achieve near-99.9% reliability without building new infrastructure. Still, experts warn that this latent capacity is in high demand from manufacturers and power generators, making it far from guaranteed.

The takeaway? Data centers and midstream companies must work together early in the planning process, adopt phased growth strategies, and explore creative solutions to secure reliable energy. As the digital economy grows, collaboration will be key to powering the next generation of data infrastructure.

Source: Staines, Killian. US Data Centers Face Growing Pains in Securing Natural Gas Pipeline Capacity. Gas Daily, S&P Global Commodity Insights, November 19, 2025.

On November 21, 2025, the American Public Power Association (APPA) submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regarding the Secretary of Energy’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) on interconnecting large loads to the interstate transmission system.

APPA emphasized that FERC should respect the Federal Power Act’s jurisdictional boundaries by:

• Allowing retail regulatory authorities to continue governing retail service terms for large loads.
• Avoiding mandates for transmission providers to offer retail wheeling service.
• Maintaining its disclaimer of authority over bundled transmission sales.

Additionally, APPA urged FERC to protect existing customers from increased costs or risks resulting from new interconnection rules. Any principles adopted must include clear provisions for allocating stranded cost risks to large load customers if they fail to meet forecasted electricity demand.

This guidance aims to ensure fairness and stability as FERC considers new policies for large load interconnections.

Click HERE to read full article.

This year’s recipient of the Mike Gilliland Honor Award is Thomas Bevan, Public Works Director for the City of Kechi
Thomas began his career with the city in 2010 as a maintenance worker in the Public Works Department. Over the next decade, through hard work and dedication (and probably a few late nights fixing gas and water lines), he steadily climbed the ranks and was promoted in 2020 to the role of Public Works Director, the position he proudly serves in today.

At the November meeting of the Board of Directors and Members Committee, General Manager Paul Mahlberg was officially elected to serve a full term on the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Members Committee, representing the municipal sector.

The SPP Members Committee collaborates with the SPP Board to oversee and guide the general operations of the SPP organization. Paul will be one of only two representatives from the municipal sector on the 24-member committee, serving the entire SPP region.

KMEA staff, KMEA Executive Committee and the entire KMEA Board congratulate Paul on this special election.  His service will benefit the KMEA membership and the broader municipal sector across the SPP region.

Starting Monday, October 6, the City of Neodesha put its newly installed generation facility through a real-world test. From Monday morning until late Thursday afternoon, the city carried the entire community’s electrical demand using its own generation resources.
The brand-new plant, commissioned and dedicated on August 13 of this year, consists of four CAT C175 generators, each rated at 3 megawatts. This marks a significant investment in local energy resilience.
The test was prompted by Evergy, which requested the city operate the plant while upgrades were made to the 69 kV transmission line connecting Neodesha to the Evergy system.
City staff, with support from KMEA Midstates and Foley Power Solutions, manned the plant around the clock to ensure optimal performance and uninterrupted power for residents throughout the event.

“The City of Neodesha is very pleased with the successful stint of power generation from our new City of Neodesha Generation Facility. This accomplishment represents a major step forward in our ongoing commitment to reliability and energy resilience for our community. We extend our sincere appreciation to KMEA and Foley for their outstanding support and partnership throughout this generation period. Their expertise and collaboration were instrumental in making this effort a success,” said City Administrator Brogan Jones.

During the outage, the city generated 452 MWh of energy, with a peak output of 7.7 MW and an average of 3.1 MW. Crews managed the city’s energy needs by operating between two and four generators throughout the four-day run. In total, the plant consumed 33,794 gallons of diesel during the event.