NRECA VPs Hewa (R) and Morrison (L) joined GRE CEO Gary Connett (CR) and DOE Assistant Secretary Pat Hoffman (CL) for smart grid roundtable. (Photo credit: Daniel Becchetti)
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Arlington, VA.; April 25, 2012 —
What: Roundtable discussion led by Patricia Hoffman, U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. Representatives from the utilities and the Department of Energy will join Minnesota energy stakeholders, including co-op consumer members, University of Minnesota researchers, and state government officials for a discussion of smart grid technology development, the benefits the technology can provide, and factors to be weighed and evaluated.
Great River Energy and two of its member cooperatives, Lake Region Electric Cooperative and Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative, were recently awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Energy (equally matched by the cooperatives for a $5 million total project) to conduct a wide-ranging smart grid demonstration.
Where: Great River Energy, Maple Grove, Minn.
Roundtable discussion and keynote address will be broadcast live on the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association website at www.NRECA.coop. Journalists can ask questions via Twitter using the hashtag #smartgridcoop
When: Tuesday, May 1, 2012.
10:30 a.m. CDT Roundtable discussion
12:00 p.m. CDT Luncheon keynote address by Assistant Secretary Patricia Hoffman
Thursday, April 26, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. CDT Pre-roundtable media conference call—
Conference call with Assistant Secretary Hoffman and project staff from Great River Energy and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Conference call instructions:
Call-in number: 1-866-684-6732
4-digit PIN/Conference DN: 6544
Please join call promptly at 1:30 CDT
To control volume on the call press *7 on your phone; to mute/unmute your phone, dial *19
Technical support/assistance for the call: 703-907-6000
Grant details:
Great River Energy and two of its member cooperatives, Lake Region Electric Cooperative and Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative, are participating in a regional smart grid demonstration. The four-year project, coordinated by NRECA's Cooperative Research Network and funded by a $34 million grant from the Department of Energy (including $5 million for the Minnesota project), will evaluate the benefits and costs of an array of new technologies.
The cooperatives will implement demand response management and meter data management systems, and deploy energy storage, advanced load control technologies, and in-home displays. Collectively these activities will enable the cooperatives to offer new pricing programs, helping consumers manage energy use and costs.
Cooperatives throughout the country are participating and matching the Department of Energy grant as part of their participation.
About Great River Energy
Great River Energy is a not-for-profit cooperative which provides wholesale electric service to 28 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Those member cooperatives distribute electricity to approximately 650,000 member consumers—or about 1.7 million people. With more than $3.5 billion in assets, Great River Energy is the second largest electric power supplier in Minnesota and one of the largest generation and transmission (G&T) cooperatives in the United States. Great River Energy's member cooperatives range from those in the outer-ring suburbs of the Twin Cities to the Arrowhead region of Minnesota to the farmland of southwestern Minnesota. Great River Energy's largest distribution cooperative serves more than 125,000 member-consumers; the smallest serves about 2,400. Learn more at greatriverenergy.com.
About National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national service organization that represents the nation's more than 900 private, not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide service to 42 million people in 47 states. Learn more at NRECA.coop.