Electric cooperative starts on solar plant
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. announced Friday that it has started construction of a 122-megawatt solar facility adjacent to the site of the former Carl Bailey Generation Station in Augusta.
The Woodruff County facility will be the company's first wholly owned solar plant, which is scheduled to begin providing power in July 2023.
"AECC and our member cooperatives support all types of wholesale power generation resources, such as affordable, non-fossil resources like solar," said Buddy Hasten, company president and chief executive officer. "As part of our long-range planning, the Woodruff County Solar project fits into our need for additional capacity for our member cooperatives. The intermittent energy produced by this facility will supplement our mission-critical baseload generation resources."
Hasten said AECC is one of the lowest-cost generation and transmission cooperatives in the United States. The utility provides power to 600,000 electric cooperative customers.
DEPCOM Power of Scottsdale, Ariz., is the engineering and construction contractor for the facility.
The Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas comprises 17 electric distribution cooperatives that serve Arkansas and surrounding states.
-- Andrew Moreau
Verizon, AT&T raise their monthly rates
At least two U.S. wireless carriers have raised monthly service rates in what they say is a response to inflation pressures.
Verizon Communications Inc. will raise prices for its wireless bills for the first time in two years and millions of customers will see a $1.35 increase in administrative charges for each phone line in the June billing cycle, Bloomberg News reported in May.
This will also affect smartwatches and tablet devices but not hot spots, USA Today reported last week.
Many business customers will see an economic adjustment fee of $2.20 per line monthly on smartphones and data plans. Basic service plans will also go up 98 cents a month starting June 16.
Customers with multiple lines are likely to see the biggest jump on their monthly phone bills, according to the USA Today report.
AT&T Inc. also announced in notices to its customers that it is raising its rates for the first time in three years. The new monthly rate rose on Wednesday for older plans by $6 for a single line and $12 for family lines, Bloomberg News reported.
-- Cristina LaRue
State index climbs; Dillard's leads way
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Friday at 816.82, up 8.47.
Dillard's Inc. shares rose 4.5%
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.