Two years ago, Newburgh Molded Products started looking into ways of improving
its energy efficiency. Today, the company is saving more than $35,000 a year in energy
costs. What happened between 1995 and 1997 stands as evidence of the effectiveness
of energy evaluations.
Newburgh Molded Products participated in Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp.'s
Energy Solutions program. Central Hudson and the Electric Power Research Institute
(EPRI) surveyed the company's facilities and identified ways to improve energy efficiency,
increase productivity and lessen environmental impacts.
One recommendation that resulted from the survey was the installation of "Watt-Wattcher"
controllers, designed to reduce the operating time of certain equipment. This alone
guaranteed an annual energy savings of $20,000.
"There is no doubt that Newburgh Molded Products' collaboration with Central
Hudson's Energy Solutions program has resulted in reduced energy costs and improved
our operating efficiencies," said Bill Rogerson, Newburgh's ISO 9000 implementation
and safety manager. "As a result, our firm is continuing to improve its competitive
position in the plastics molding industry."
Central Hudson, which covers the Hudson Valley region of New York from the northern
metropolitan suburbs to points south of Albany, helped EPRI develop an industrial
power survey program, called the EPRI Partnership for Industrial Competitiveness
(EPIC).
"We look at [companies'] processes and try to find modern technologies to
help them improve their technologies," said Matt Rush, Central Hudson's engineer
who manages the energy program. "We bring the latest electrical and gas technologies
to the manufacturers and thereby help them save money."
EPIC's three-pronged focus is on increasing productivity, improving efficiency
and reducing environmental impacts. So far, it has been applied to the plastics and
metals fabrication, pulp and paper, ore processing, metal foundries, forging and
heat treating, textile manufacturing, printing, and computer chip and circuit board
manufacturing industries.
Among the factors considered in an EPIC industrial plant survey are equipment,
product quality, manufacturing processes, waste minimization and treatment, materials
recycling and recovery, and energy-efficiency issues.
New way of doing business
Utility companies cannot compete solely on price. They must provide the services
their customers are looking for, services designed to keep their customers in business
for the long term. They also need to help customers expand, and energy-efficiency
programs often do just that.
Offering such services as lighting surveys, power quality services, and manufacturing
process evaluations, utility companies are positioning themselves to handle fierce
competition.
"If we can help the customer be more cost-effective, more competitive, he's
going to stay in business and he's going to have incentives to expand his business,"
said John Sundergill, Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.'s director of economic development.
BG&E offers economic development discount rates for qualifying relocating and
expanding companies. The company also conducts initial energy audits to identify
areas for improvement, and hires outside consultants for more in-depth work, such
as reengineering and retooling.
Energy audits are an important component of GPU Energy's demand-side management
plan. They're used to help existing companies expand, and to attract new investment.
The company, which serves 43 percent of New Jersey, offers discounts to qualifying
new and expanding companies, with the condition that an audit is conducted.
"I think the customers find audits useful," said Jack Rosenfeld, GPU's
manager of economic development. "Usually what will come out of an audit are
recommendations for improvements." A high percentage of GPU customers follow
through with at least some of these recommendations.
Associated Electric Coop., Inc., which serves 80 percent of Missouri and parts
of southeast Iowa, introduced its audit program last October.
One of its first clients was Premium Standard Farms, a vertically-integrated hog
farm headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., with much of its operation in Mercer County,
Mo. Surveyors studied the company's feed mill, home office, training center, farrowing
site and finishing site, and offered five basic recommendations: one, to manage the
load more efficiently; two, to increase capacities at the feed mill; three, to use
back-up generation at the feed mill; four, to install new lighting in office space;
and five, to increase lighting efficiencies in the farrowing and finishing sites.
"I think we are going to probably change the light fixtures in every one
of our facilities," said Roscoe Moulthrop, Premium Standard Farms' director
of repair and maintenance. "I think anybody who overlooks an opportunity to
save money probably won't be in business too long. Anytime you can lower costs, you
increase the potential to do other things that you think are important."
Chadler USA, which manufactures and distributes cocoa products, moved a manufacturing
operation from Brazil to Bridgeport, N.J., and cited the utilities as one reason.
"We're working with Chadler to see what we can do to keep their costs in
line," said Nathan Berk, account executive with Chadler's utility company, Atlantic
Energy, Inc. "We are helping Chadler become more energy-efficient by exploring
energy management systems and control systems that will help the company optimize
its energy usage."
Another company that benefited from Atlantic Energy's assistance is Uptown Bagels,
a manufacturing company headquartered in Bridgeport, N.J.
"The primary reason that we selected this location was because it is in one
of the largest industrial parks in the country, it had a solid utility infrastructure
in place and it provides us with access to all the major arteries for our distribution,"
said Controller Frank Coladonato.
"Prior to purchasing its new building, representatives from Atlantic Electric,
Uptown Bagels and the state of New Jersey held a meeting to map out a cost-effective
plan to make South Jersey the company's new home," said Berk. "We were
also able to offer Uptown Bagels special economic development electric rates, which
is a cost-savings factor that helps bring many new businesses to this region."
Richard Michelfelder, Atlantic Energy's manager of energy services, said energy-saving
equipment can be partially or fully financed by the energy savings themselves.
"The customer can have lower energy costs, lower operational maintenance
costs, and at the same time get new equipment and realize a positive cash flow,"
he said.
Improving efficiency
The Carolina Power and Light Co. has an engineering team specializing in mechanical
and electrical systems. The team helps companies improve energy efficiency through
its Energy-Efficient Plant Design program, Power Quality Assurance program, and electrotechnologies
program, which identifies state-of-the-art solutions with electrical equipment in
manufacturing.
"Electrotechnologies can do for manufacturing what the microwave oven did
for people's kitchens," said Dale Carroll, CP&L's section manager for economic
development. "We provide this as a value-added service on the customer side
of the meter."
CP&L's engineering team applied their skills to Air Transportation Holding
Co., the first
client to locate at the Global TransPark in North Carolina. The team offered power
quality
and energy-efficiency recommendations for the company's new air cargo/aircraft maintenance
facility.
CP&L also designed and installed an electrical system to ensure power quality
for the Louisiana Pacific Corp.'s plant production lines in its new OSB panel manufacturing
plant near Roxboro, N.C.
In South Carolina, CP&L helped Dillon Yarn expand its yarn spinning operation
with energy-efficiency and power quality recommendations.
Central and Southwest Services, which covers parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana
and Arkansas, has field representatives identify potential opportunities to improve
electrical, gas and, in some cases, water efficiencies. Following the field representatives'
analysis, C&SS's technical sales support group does its own walk-through, offering
a more detailed analysis.
"It's one of the most useful tools we have as far as building the relationship
with the customer," said Bud Clark, client technology consultant, of his company's
energy program.
T.U. Electric's energy program is designed in a similar way. Account managers
conduct straightforward audits, calling on the company's Commercial and Industrial
Customer Solutions engineers for more detailed analyses.
"We do a lot of comparisons," said Phil Sprinkle, C&I Customer Solutions
manager. "A company will want to know options they can use to affect their energy
use. We really think you have to take a comprehensive look at how the energy is being
used and where it's going."
T.U. Electric's service area includes the northern third of Texas. Its typical
energy program customers include large office buildings, manufacturers and food processors.
As the utility industry becomes increasingly competitive, utilities are beginning
to develop long-term relationships with their industrial customers in order to ensure
their continued survival in the marketplace. The EPIC program, for example, has experts
knowledgeable in specific industrial sectors. They therefore add credibility to energy
surveys that go beyond the usual recommendations, such as more efficient lighting
and motors.
Using an EPIC plant survey, Duke Power Co. helped IEM Plastics, a Reidsville,
N.C., supplier of plastic containers, increase productivity and reduce costs. Duke
Power's recommendations are expected to save IEM Plastics as much as a half-million
dollars in reduced downtime, decreased labor costs, improved plant productivity and
lower product costs over the next decade.
--
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