Friday, January 30, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Energy Smart Industrial: Five Years of Enormous Savings - Program has saved industries more than 647 million kWh of electricity (Bonneville Power Administration)
(PORTLAND, OR) -- The Bonneville Power Administration’s Energy Smart Industrial
program is helping companies better manage their energy use and reduce
costs. Since 2009, BPA and Northwest publicly owned electric utilities have
partnered with 473 industrial companies on projects that have collectively
saved more than 647 million kilowatt-hours of electricity — enough energy to
power nearly 60,000 homes for a year.
In the first five years of the program,
111 publicly owned electric utilities in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon,
Washington and Wyoming have helped industrial end-users complete over 735
capital projects in a variety of market segments, including food processing,
pulp and paper, wood products, advanced technology, water/wastewater and
mining. A recent examination revealed that the annual energy savings from
completed capital projects increased by 300 percent on average.
“With better modulation, drying and pressure control, we’re so much more
efficient,” says Scott Noble, manufacturing management associate for Boise
Cascade. “And we’ve seen significant savings as a result.”
“Energy Smart Industrial is making Northwest industrial companies more
efficient and competitive,” says Richard Génecé, vice president of Energy
Efficiency at BPA. “The success of ESI is a credit to the work of our utility
customers and ESI staff, as well as to industrial companies embracing energy
efficiency across the region.”
ESI provides a suite of energy management options that BPA’s utility customers can offer to the industrial companies they serve. In order to meet the broad range of needs, technologies and facility sizes, the program features five components, many of which don’t require a large, up-front investment: Energy Project Manager co-funding; Track and Tune Projects; High Performance Energy Management cohorts; Refrigerator Operator Coaching; and Small Industrial High Performance Energy Management. Since every facility is unique, the BPA program provides an engineer as a technical resource and point of contact for the customer and utility to ensure each project is defined, developed and managed successfully.
“With BPA providing incentives and technical expertise, we’re helping our industrial customers, big and small, achieve significant energy savings,” says Larry Blaufus, industrial accounts manager with Clark Public Utilities in Vancouver, Wash.
In 2010, Clark enrolled a non-woven fabrics plant in Washougal, Wash. Through energy efficiency measures and upgrades to chillers, air compressors and lighting, Fitesa Washougal Inc. cut its energy use by about 19 percent, or 2.5 million kWh a year.
JD Hisey, the plant’s continuous improvement manager, says Energy Smart Industrial did more than just cut Fitesa’s energy costs. “The new equipment reduced our maintenance, repair and downtime costs,” Hisey says.
For energy-efficiency help at its plywood plant in Elgin, Ore., Boise Cascade, the second-largest softwood plywood manufacturer in North America, turned to Oregon Trail Electric Consumers Cooperative, a BPA customer utility in Baker City. After ESI-upgrades to its air-compressor system, Boise Cascade is saving about $24,000 a year in its energy bills.
The BPA program is now focusing on smaller industries in rural areas and water treatment and wastewater facilities. Also, since lighting upgrades have accounted for nearly 25 percent of the program’s historical savings, ESI will continue to explore new lighting technologies and controls. And soon, BPA plans to develop a “Superior Energy Performance” pilot for industrial facilities.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Monday, January 26, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
Lena Wittler named Clark Public Utilities Director of Communications (Washington PUD Association, Olympia, WA)
(VANCOUVER, WA) -- In recognition of the importance of communications to the
success of the utility across all departments, Clark Public Utilities General
Manager Wayne Nelson has named Lena Wittler the Director of Communications for
Clark Public Utilities.
As head of this new department, Lena will continue to lead
utility public affairs and will oversee her team managing corporate and
employee communication, media and marketing, community involvement and
education, online and social platforms, and utility research.
In her 16 years of service to Clark Public Utilities, Ms.
Wittler has served as the customer communications manager and most recently as
the senior manager of communications. She holds a Master of Business
Administration from the University of Portland and a Bachelor’s degree in
communication from Willamette University.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Friday, January 16, 2015
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Public Power Council Elects Officers &And Board Members for 2015-2016 (Public Power Council)
(PORTLAND) -- At
its monthly members’ meeting on January 8, 2015, the Executive Committee of the
Public Power Council elected officers for the 2015-2016 term. Elected by unanimous decision were:
Mark Johnson, Flathead Electric
Cooperative, as Chairman
Dan Peterson, Pend Oreille
PUD as Vice Chair, Administration and Budget
Matt Michel, Lane Electric
Cooperative, as Vice Chair, Long Range Planning
Jim Smith, Klickitat PUD, as
Vice Chair, Allocation/Rates/Contracts
Debra Smith, Central Lincoln
PUD, as Vice Chair, Fish and Wildlife
PPC
Executive Director Scott Corwin said, “PPC is very fortunate to have Chairman
Johnson and these Vice Chairs at the helm.
The Northwest public power community will be very well-served by the
expertise and leadership of our newly elected officers.”
“I am excited to serve as the Executive Committee
Chairman,” said incoming Chairman, Mark Johnson. “I look forward to working with the
Committee, other member utilities, and the PPC staff to handle the many issues
facing public power over the next two years.”
At its Annual Meeting of
Members on December 11, 2014, the Public Power Council announced the newly elected
Board Members who will serve a two year term beginning January 2015. Elected to the 21 member board for the 2015-2016
term are:
Steve Boorman, City of
Bonners Ferry
Ed Brost, Franklin County PUD
Jorge Carrasco, Seattle City
Light
Ted Coates, Tacoma Public
Utilities
John Gerstenberger, Hood
River Electric Coop.
Roger Gray, Eugene Water
& Electric Board
Tom Hutchinson, Clearwater
Power
Mark Johnson, Flathead
Electric Coop.
Steve Klein, Snohomish County
PUD
Pat McGary, Clark Public
Utilities
Don McMaster, Cowlitz PUD
Matt Michel, Lane Electric
Cooperative
Fred Mitchell, Clallam County
PUD
Joe Noland, City of Cheney
Kevin Nordt, Grant County PUD
Dan Peterson, Pend Oreille
County PUD
Debra Smith, Central Lincoln
PUD
Jim Smith, Klickitat County
PUD
Les Teel, Columbia Rural
Electric Assn.
Chuck Thurman, Monmouth Power
& Light
Dave Ward, Grays Harbor PUD
“PPC, and the entire region, is
fortunate to have the leadership of these impressive utility managers and
directors who offer enormous amounts of time and knowledge for the benefit of electricity
consumers in the Northwest,” said Scott Corwin, Executive Director of PPC.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Monday, January 12, 2015
Friday, January 9, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Monday, January 5, 2015
Friday, January 2, 2015
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