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By Staff Reports, Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives Published: February 27, 2023 After almost two months of negotiation and debate, legislators adjourned the 2023 Virginia General Assembly Session on Saturday without a...

By Staff Reports, Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives Published: February 27, 2023 In 2019, county, state and federal dignitaries celebrated as USDA announced a $3.8M fiber expansion awarded to EMPOWER Broadband to serve southern...

By Gary Wood, Special to The Daily Progress Published: January 31, 2023 While there are so many hot button issues that dominate our TVs, there’s one that isn’t controversial — or at least it shouldn’t be: broadband access. Electric cooperatives and their...

Leaning Right and Turning Left with Sadler and the Senator When you give this electrifying episode a listen, you will find that the rural electric co-ops efforts are making amazing changes to Virginia’s rural areas that are just so very critical for the future of our...

Published: January 31, 2023 Broadband legislation advances through Senate and House Committees, with the Senate bill passing a full floor vote on Tuesday The Virginia Senate has advanced SB 1029, sponsored by Sen. Bill Stanley, passing with overwhelming,...

By Charlotte Rene Woods Published: January 31, 2023 A broadband bill by Sen. Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County, endorsed by broadband cooperatives, passed the Senate Tuesday. Senate Bill 1029 would kick off a 30-day response process when companies and co-ops apply for...

By Robert Locklear Published: February 1, 2023 at 8:16 AM (WSET) — Broadband is a need for rural Virginians--or at least that's what the Virginia Senate voted for on Tuesday. The Senate passed SB 1029, which is a bill pushing to bring broadband access to every...

By Kyra Senese, Managing Editor Published: January 27, 2023 During this year's legislative session, bills introduced in the Virginia House of Delegates and Virginia Senate seek to standardize the process and associated fees for broadband providers crossing railroads....

By Joe Dashiell Published: Jan. 27, 2023 at 7:10 PM EST RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - A dispute between broadband providers and railroads in Virginia is playing out in the General Assembly. And how it’s resolved could have an impact on thousands of people who are...

JANUARY 24, 2023 Virginia’s legislature wants to cap crossing fees and speed up the review process, but railroad companies say current practices protect safety. Fiber deployments that need to cross railroad rights of way sometimes get mired in bureaucratic delays and...