Archive for category: General Information

APPA’s 2022 Survey of Payment and Contributions to the State and Local Government is available. Public power utilities with at least 50 percent retail sales according to 2022 EIA data, with a few exceptions, are eligible to participate in the survey. Joint Action Agencies who have at least five (5) members that complete the survey can receive a custom, aggregated cut of the data among just their members.

The information collected on this form is used by APPA to quantify the benefits public power utilities provide to their state and local communities. The direct payments, free services, and other contributions municipal electric utilities provide to local government can be a significant portion of their electric operating revenues. However, these services are commonly under-reported or not reported at all. One purpose of this survey is to help public power utilities recognize and account for all the contributions they are making to their communities. This is essential information to have available to demonstrate to customers and the city government the full benefits of public power. In addition, the information collected on this form will help APPA counter arguments of competitors and opponents that public power utilities do not pay taxes, and therefore do not contribute to local communities.

 

Results from this survey will be used to create APPA’s Public Power Pays Back report, which is a free report that highlights public power’s contributions to their communities through property-like taxes, payments in lieu of taxes, transfers to the general fund, and free or reduced cost services provided to states and cities. This data is also used in APPA’s Statistical Report to highlight public power’s benefit to the community.

 

Submissions are due March 21, 2024.

Survey link:

http://publicpower.APPA-2022-Survey-of-Tax-Payments-and-Contributions.alchemer.com/s3/

 

You can preview a PDF of the survey here:

https://www.publicpower.org/system/files/documents/20240122-2022-Public-Power-Tax-Payments-and-Contributions-Final-Survey.pdf

 

The Internal Revenue Service on Dec. 22 unveiled the IRS Energy Credits Online pre-filing registration tool for taxpayers who intend to receive a direct payment or transfer a clean energy credit.

Established by the Inflation Reduction Act, elective pay (or “direct pay”) and transferability are credit monetization mechanisms to help states, local governments, non-profits, and other eligible entities access clean energy tax credits.

On December 20th KMEA staff presented options for discussion on a new substation and generation project to the city of Seneca City Council.

Several months ago, Evergy proposed substantial upgrades to the substation that currently serves Seneca and the local Rural Electric Cooperative.   Seneca staff reached out to KMEA for review of the Evergy plan and potential additional cost to the city if this project got completed.  KMEA and city staff quickly put a list of options together for presentation to the Seneca city council.  The city council reviewed five different options at the meeting.  These options consisted of Evergy moving forward on the rebuilding of the current substation to Seneca city adding a substation along with three generating units to the city’s electric department.  Currently Seneca does not have generating capacity as part of their electric utility.   “The goal for the city is to provide the most reliable and economic utility possible” says Steve Brooks, city manager.

The city council reviewed all the options and gave city staff and KMEA instructions to evaluate the options and evaluate what impact these options would have on the city’s retail rates to the customers.  KMEA and city staff will present the requested information at a meeting in January.

Rolling blackouts are a rising threat across the U.S. as aging power grids collide with extreme weather, rising electricity demand and a shift to cleaner fuels, the nation’s top grid monitor warned Wednesday.

In a report, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. said most regions of the country face growing risks of inadequate electricity supplies during periods of extreme cold and heat over the coming decade. Major wind and solar power projects that could serve metropolitan areas aren’t being built fast enough as power companies shut down old coal plants.

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The Florida Municipal Power Agency recently filed comments with the Environmental Protection Agency voicing concerns about EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas rule for electric utilities.

The rule, which targets CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants, presents unique challenges in Florida, FMPA noted.

FMPA is a wholesale power agency owned by municipal electric utilities in Florida.

Florida relies on natural gas generation for 75% of its power supply, “by far the highest percentage in the United States. It would be one of the most impacted states by EPA’s proposed rule, which would introduce experimental ‘green’ hydrogen to partially fuel natural gas power plants by 2032,” FMPA said in a news release related to the comments.

The Florida Reliability Coordinating Council also filed comments on the proposed rule. The FRCC reported the rule would likely reduce natural gas generation levels between 20% to 40% for natural gas units, creating significant reliability risks in Florida, FMPA pointed out.

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