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.

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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