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Beating the Peak Involves 'Part Science, Part Magic'
By
Erica Plouffe
It comes but
once a month, and only for an hour at that.
But the cost
of doing business at East Carolina University during the peak utility
demand can come with a hefty price tag. On average, the cost per
kilowatt the amount of energy it takes to run 10 light bulbs or
three computers is about three cents during regular usage. During
peak times, per wattage costs can soar to $14.75.
Cutting back
on the university's electrical usage, said George Harrell, vice
chancellor for Facilities Maintenance, can save hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
The monthly
peak is a constantly moving target, but Harrell, who has been tracking
the monthly peak for the past 11 years, has a feel for when it might
hit. Drawing from a matrix of factors that range from the school
schedule to the weather forecast, judging when the utility peak
hits is best chalked up to an educated guessing game.
"It's
part science, part magic," he said. "There are patterns.
It's almost assured in the winter months that there will be an early
morning peak. And whether the K-12 schools are in session has an
effect. They have a big early morning demand, too."
Harrell estimates
about half of the university's annual $12 million electricity bill
can be attributed to the peak demand rates. To help cut down the
bill, Harrell regularly asks for help from ECU staff and faculty
by requesting energy conservation during the anticipated peak hour.
While efforts
to conserve are not supposed to affect the ongoing business of the
university, Harrell suggests that turning out the lights, or forestalling
turning on the coffee pot, air conditioners, radios, printers or
computers during anticipated peak times can help out the university's
bottom line. The conservation efforts, he said, could save ECU as
much as $600,000 in a year.
"If we
can lower that peak usage by just 5 percent, that's $300,000 a year
in savings," he said. "And when we get the word out, we
get great cooperation out of the whole campus. People have been
really good about conserving. I try to minimize my requests, but
I also try to catch the peak."
Harrell said
the dips in kilowatt usage during the time when he asks faculty
and staff to be mindful about their usage are noticeable.
Andy Yakim,
GUC energy services supervisor, said residential customers are affected
by peak demand times, although not in the same way as ECU. "The
peak affects everybody," he said. "Indirectly, total usage
sets and affects long-term rates."
But homes on
Beat the Peak program do benefit directly. That program provides
radio-controlled devices that shut down 55,000 of the region's air
conditioners, compressors, heaters and electrical strips during
peak usage times, Yakim said. In return, participants can save $70
off their annual electricity bill.
Like most of
the region's larger institutions, ECU is on a demand contract with
Greenville Utilities Commission. The peak rate has to do with the
demand the region's electricity supplier, Progress Energy, experiences,
not with peaks ex-perienced by ECU or GUC, Harrell said.
"So the
peak is determined by how much we are using when their system peaks,
not ours," he said. With that in mind, Harrell said all he
can do is to keep an eye on the weather report and the log books
from previous years.
"We've
got history, and we know the patterns," he said. "But
some months are really hard to call."
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