LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD

Member And Public Input Request On New Federal Energy Standards

Union Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc. (URE) is seeking member and public input regarding Demand-Response (DR) Standards and Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Standards as part of new requirements contained in the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, which amended Title I of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). State regulatory agencies and some nonregulated electric utilities, such as cooperatives, are required to consider the implementation of these standards.

Specifically, URE must consider promoting the use of demandresponse and demand flexibility practices by residential, commercial, and industrial consumers to reduce electricity consumption during periods of unusually high demand. In addition, URE must consider establishing rate mechanisms to timely recover the costs of promoting demand-response and demand flexibility practices.

And finally, URE must consider measures to promote greater electrification of the transportation sector, including the establishment of rates that promote affordable and equitable electric vehicle charging options for residential, commercial, and public electric vehicle charging infrastructure, improve the customer experience associated with electric vehicle charging, including by reducing charging times for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, accelerate third-party investment in electric vehicle charging for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, and appropriately recover the marginal costs of delivering electricity to electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

The amendment to PURPA requires URE to request member and public input and hold a hearing on DR and EV charging standards before November 15, 2023.

By that date, the URE Board of Trustees will determine whether it is appropriate to implement the new DR and/or EV charging standards to carry out the purposes for which PURPA was enacted. Those purposes are to encourage (1) the conservation of energy supplied by electric utilities; (2) the optimization of the efficiency of use of facilities and resources by electric utilities; and (3) equitable rates to electric customers.

August 31 , 2023 — Deadline for written comments

Deadline for members and the public to submit input in the form of written comments via online form: https://ure.com/purpa-request/ or by emailing services@ure.com, or by mail to URE, Attn: PURPA, 15461 US Highway 36, Marysville, Ohio 43040.

September 26, 2023 — URE Board of Trustees Hearing

The URE Board of Trustees will conduct its required hearing on September 26, 2023, immediately following their normal board meeting, to review written comments received from members and the public, as well as input from URE management.

The URE Board of Trustees’ decision will be available to members and the public in the November magazine and on our website at www.ure.com on or before November 15, 2023.

URE’S CURRENT DR AND EV CHARGING PROGRAMS

DR and EV charging programs provide financial and environmental benefits to the URE membership when members reduce or shift energy use during times of high demand. EVs, a growing trend, are vehicles powered by electricity, generally provided by a battery, that will be charged using URE’s distribution system.

At URE, we offer programs and services to meet the ever-changing needs of our members, increase energy efficiency, and expand beneficial electrification to enhance the lives of those we serve. Learn more about the DR and EV charging programs that URE, in conjunction with Buckeye Power, provides at https://ure.com/purpa-request/.

In May, Fairbanks High School students traveled to Brilliant, Ohio, for the rare opportunity to tour the Cardinal Power Plant which supplies much of the electricity used by URE members.

More than 125 students from four Ohio high schools in cooperative service areas toured the Cardinal Plant facilities. They learned about the history of electric cooperatives in Ohio, how electricity is produced, and career opportunities in the electric industry.

Sean Luellen, URE’s crew leader along with recently hired, groundworker, Hunter Hardesty and line tech/ journeyman Daron Downs chaperoned the event to talk with students one-on-one and to answer any career questions from the students.

The students viewed a video about how not-for-profit electric cooperatives formed in 1935 to bring electricity into rural agricultural areas of Ohio. They also learned how the cooperatives’ Buckeye Power, which owns Cardinal Plant, believes in an all-of-the-above approach to power generation, including coal, natural gas, solar, wind, hydropower, and biofuels.

Coal-fired plants like Cardinal play a critical role in providing reliable electricity for Ohio, said Coty Lee, safety and health supervisor. “I think that it’s important to show what sets us apart from nuclear, gas, solar, and wind power generation. At a gas plant, for example, they are solely relying on that supply of gas coming in. Here at a coal plant, we always have two to four months of fuel on hand. We aren’t impacted by supply chain challenges, and we can continue to produce reliable power even in the toughest of elements.”

Cardinal Plant, which will soon be one of only four coal plants still operating in the state due to aggressive EPA regulations that have forced many coal plants into early retirement, is committed to delivering reliable electricity while safeguarding the environment, Lee explained. “We do everything possible to meet or exceed environmental standards,” he said. “That’s why we are considered one of the cleanest operating coal plants in the world.”

The students took a guided walking tour inside the plant, which produces 1,800 megawatts of power — enough to light 200 million LED lightbulbs. They saw firsthand how electricity is made from beginning to end and how leftover waste material, called fly ash, is sold and used in the manufacturing of concrete products.

“The students are amazed when we put into perspective how much electricity Cardinal Plant can produce at any given time,” said A.J. Loferski, senior project manager, power generation. He said students appreciated the opportunity to learn at the Cardinal Plant.

“They loved the tour and were impressed with how clean the plant was,” said Chris Yoho, supply chain manager. “It was nothing like what they had imagined. They were also surprised to learn that what comes out of the stacks is mostly water, not pollution.”

Students learned about various career paths available in the cooperative world, including positions available to high school and college graduates, Lee said. Among statewide offices, generation facilities, and local cooperatives, jobs can be found in engineering, finance, IT, communications, human resources, line work, customer service, and other areas. Students on the tour received a career booklet that included job descriptions and salary ranges.

“Many young people work at our Cardinal Plant; you don’t have to have 20 years of experience,” Lee said. “They have an opportunity here.”