Rural Utility Cooperative Law Blog

A federal appellate court recently addressed a distribution cooperative’s lawsuit against a G&T cooperative with which it had a power purchase agreement.  Though the lawsuit alleged the G&T cooperative breached the PPA, the latest ruling focused on whether federal courts

This post comes from CFC Solutions Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 25, July 1, 2013. CFC recently filed comments with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Private Company Council (PCC) in response to an invitation to comment on private company

C&A has formed a group on LinkedIn for business cooperatives.  Here is a summary of the group and its purpose. Business Cooperatives is dedicated to connecting business cooperatives and their leaders. By sharing their expertise and experiences, members will stay

In its 2013 Workplan, the IRS reported a "high level" of incorrect reporting by Section 501(c)(12) cooperatives.  These errors primarily related to "miscalculation and misreporting" of member income percentages. The IRS conducted a compliance check of Section 501(c)(12) cooperatives.  The

Cooperatives have been given conflicting guidance from the IRS concerning the proper treatment of discounting of capital credits.  Specifically, some pronouncements indicate that the discount (i.e., the difference between face value and present value) should be treated as non-member income

This guest post is from CFC's February 11, 2013 CFC Solutions Newsletter (Vol. 15, No. 6). FROM THE CFO'S DESK Enacting a Capital Credits Policy Change

A prior blog post discussed a private ruling by the service regarding the allocation of purchase price among the assets of a renewable energy developer.  Attorney David R. Cook discussed the ruling in a webinar on PPA taxation and recommended

The Service recently denied exemption to an organization that sought exemption under Section 501(c)(12) as a mutual ditch and irrigation company.  The organization failed to satisfy several requirements for exemption under Section 501(c)(12).  The ruling provided an insight into the

The U.S. electric grid is vulnerable to terrorist attacks that could cause much more damage to the system than natural disasters such as Hurricane Sandy, according to a recently declassified report prepared for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security by

On November 29, 2012, Senator Udall of Colorado submitted a bill to amend Section 501(c)(12) as it relates to mutual ditch and irrigation companies.  The bill would (i) modify the Member Income Test by exempting certain income and (ii) codify

This guest post was provided by Danielle Rodabaugh, chief editor of the Surety Bond Insider. In most cases, surety bond insurance is used to protect consumers from companies that could harm them by committing fraud or failing to follow industry

C&A attorneys have been closely following lawsuits against cooperatives' capital credit management.  We recently developed an updated summary of the cases.  Take a moment to review the summary by clicking here.

A 2008 case and its follow-up in 2011 addressed several issues arising from common provisions in power purchase agreements.  These issues involve spinning reserve requirements, dispatch rights, and the applicable heat rate formula.  The underlying dispute emphasizes the need to

This post is a repost from CFC's Solutions News Bulletin, Sept. 24, 2012, Vol. 14, No. 36. At the September board meeting of the National Renewables Cooperative Organization (NRCO), John List, CFC senior vice president, Member Services, discussed the funding

In a July 2012 Chief Counsel Advisory (CCA), the Service considered whether cooperatives and their patrons are subject to the related-party rules under Section 267. Read the latest Cooperative Tax Brief.

On Friday, August 17, 2012, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved a proposed order that would exempt certain transactions by electric cooperatives, among other "Exempt Entities," from many of the requirements of the Commodity Exchange Act.

In another lawsuit concerning cooperatives' capital credit practices, a North Carolina trial court ruled in favor of a cooperative that we previously wrote about in another blog post. The court ruled, based on the facts at issue, that the cooperative

Earlier this past July, the Texas Court of Appeals ruled on important aspects of the cooperative lawsuit concerning Denton County Electric Cooperative, Inc., d/b/a CoServ Electric ("CoServ").  The court ruled, among other things, that (i) the cooperative was not subject

In the latest cooperative tax ruling, the Service ruled that a cooperative’s (“Cooperative”) gain on sale of stock in corporations that offered services to Cooperative’s members was patronage-sourced.  The ruling was important to Cooperative because it expected to fail the

C&A attorney David R. Cook will present a webinar regarding the legal and tax aspects of power purchase agreements (PPAs). Along with two other power industry professionals, he will address accounting and tax issues involved with PPAs.  In addition, David

This guest post is an excerpt from Congressional Testimony by Will Coleman before the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, entitled Joint Hearing on Energy Tax Policy and Tax Reform.  Please post your reaction and comments below.

C&A attorney David Cook has written an article for The Cooperative Accountant, a journal published by the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives.  The article explains the importance of effective capital credit management, and the unique role played by cooperative

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released an initial version of a document designed to assist electric utilities in assessing their cyber security vulnerabilities. DOE developed the guide in coordination with several other agencies and electric industry representatives, including

In the context of renewable energy project development, power purchase agreements (“PPAs”) are the cornerstone upon which the project is built and operated.  PPAs are contracts through which the developer or ultimate owner of a project sells power generated by