Dive Brief:
- Wisconsin's Dairyland Power Cooperative may be forced to take its Alma coal facility offline from time to time over the winter, as the utility tries to conserve coal stockpiles which have run low due to slow rail deliveries, Platts reports.
- Midwest utilities have struggled to sufficiently build fuel stocks ahead of cold weather as Bakken oil and a large grain crop overwhelmed the BNSF Railway.
- BNSF plans to spend $6 billion next year to expand and maintain the rail system, but for captive utilities looking for fuel this winter the transportation additions cannot come soon enough.
Dive Insight:
A spokesperson for Dairyland Power told Platts that the utility "is considering the possibility of scheduling outages to conserve coal," and will coordinate the plan with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
In August, BNSF committed to sending adequate coal supplies to Dairyland, prompting Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI) to say he "will be closely monitoring the supply of coal to our region and will work to ensure that our energy needs are met.” It is unclear what happened to that agreement.
BNSF has come under pressure to boost coal deliveries as utilities fear another repeat of last winter's extreme cold temperatures which stretched grid resources thin. The Western Coal Traffic League has asked the Surface Transportation Board to force BNSF to speed deliveries, using fines if necessary, in order to ensure power reliability.