Here's Your Crystal Ball

Microsoft jumped in to the Smart Grid field this week with its announcement of Microsoft Hohm (a combination of the word “Home” and “Ohm”), a service for analyzing home energy use and offering suggestions to increase efficiency and conservation.

The service starts with local and national averages, but customizes its suggestions based on information input by the user. Hohm uses analytics provided by Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the US DOE to suggest areas where the user might be able to reduce energy use. In the future, MS plans to have Hohm incorporate data from advanced meters. Hohm is also touted as helping utilities measure and meet their regulatory requirements for conservation and energy efficiency, and eventually to help reduce power consumption during peak hours.

Currently, the service is in beta form, but will launch with four utility partners on the West Coast.

MS and Google’s entries into the residential energy management sector are beginning to reveal the potential that access to energy consumption information has for the future. This goes beyond simply selling ad space when you log in to view your home energy use.

Imagine that these companies could not only show you your electricity use, but also your gas use and car use (through tools like MS Sync). They could then begin to construct a semi-complete carbon footprint for you. Paired with carbon offset projects that companies like Google are pursuing, they could begin mounting a vertically integrated operation for measuring and mitigating your carbon impact. This might be a good fit with the cap and trade system that is currently being discussed by the Congress.

Source: SmartGridNews.com - June 29, 2009

And I quote....(on climate change debate)

With great interest…and amusement, I was able to watch part of the three hour debate on the House floor regarding the Climate Change and Energy Policy Act of 2009 (HR 2454). After listening to pros and cons from congress people all over the United States, how on earth can people possibly discern which direction is best? I work in the utility industry and I pay attention to this stuff because it will affect our customers.

I decided the best way to share pros and cons would be to pass on some of the comments I heard from congressional leaders during the general debate. To the best of my ability I wrote down some of their comments verbatim but obviously could not include their entire dialogue.

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R-California Dana Rohrbacher
“Wake up America! This bill will cause great damage to the American people in the name of phony science.”

D-North Carolina G.K. Butterfield
“Save the planet. You can call this a carbon tax all you want, but you are wrong. This is historic legislation that needs to move forward. Built into this bill is a 15% safety net for the poorest in America. It will cost the American tax payer 48 cents per day.”

R-Tennessee Marsha Blackburn
“This is not an energy bill, it is a tax bill. Tennessee will lose 33,000 jobs in 2012 alone. The impacts of this bill will shut down small businesses and residential customers will pay $3,100 in new taxes every year.”

D-Massachusetts Richard Neal
“This bill will make America less dependent on foreign oil. It’s a difficult decision but it makes those tough choices for our children.”

R-Nebraska Lee Terry
“Omaha Public Power District did some calculations for me and they tell me that it will cost OPPD customers $74 million by 2012 and by 2030, the cost will be $414 million.”

D-Maryland John Sarbanes
“The United States is a sleeping giant; this bill will create a new framework so ordinary citizens can jump into opportunities.”

R-Oklahoma Tom Cole
“This is a flawed cap and tax legislation. It will add $3,000 to consumers' energy costs. Residents in rural areas will be disproportionately affected.”

D-California Jerry McNerney
“I’ve seen firsthand new development in technology. Long term prosperity is at hand. It is long past the time for us to pass this legislation to give us a more efficient grid.”

R-Alabama Spencer Bachus
“This will create a multi-trillion dollar derivatives market based on carbon offsets. And it gives us permission to discharge CO2. If you think the sub-prime lending market was hard to believe, wait till you see this.”

D-Ohio Betty Sutton
“This bill is not perfect but no bill is. The status quo is not acceptable. This is a jobs bill. We need to keep acting till we get it right.”

R-Iowa Tom Latham
“We have the most onerous regulations in the world. See this present (bright yellow box with a blue ribbon) says ‘To China From U.S. Congress’. [opens box and pulls out a hard hat that has stamped on it ‘American jobs’] Seventeen thousand jobs will be lost in Iowa by 2012. This bill destroys hope.

D-Iowa Bruce Braley
“This is a defining moment in our country’s history. How will we look into our children’s eyes and answer ‘Where were you when we needed climate change legislation?’ This will not cost us jobs, it will create jobs in green energy.
**********

The Republican congressman from Texas who led the opposition said “David Sokol, the CEO of Mid-American Energy who provides energy to the mid west, says this bill will raise utility rates across the nation and it will cost his residential consumers $110.00 per month.”

Even though I attempted to give readers both sides through the words of congressional leaders, I believe this legislation will cause grave hardship for every American.

Each side gives their own facts and as I listened, I wondered where they got their information. The common thread in support of this legislation was that it would reduce our dependence on foreign oil, which has affected me indirectly most of my life. I’ve done my own research and I oppose this bill. There was a common thread against this legislation – the loss of jobs and the overall cost to the American family. That, my friend, affects me directly.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

What's a smart grid?

The term is shorthand for a set of automation and telecommunications technologies and processes that, when properly integrated and supported, will enable utilities to communicate with other utilities, with their customers and with the devices that deliver electricity. The smart grid will include new technologies in the bulk power system, the electric distribution system, at the customer meter and in the customer’s home or business. Vast amounts of data will be communicated instantly and without human intervention. The data exchanged along the smart grid will include power usage, price and conditions of the various system components.

The benefits of a smart grid include:
• The ability to increase energy efficiency at the consumer level and on the electric transmission and distribution systems.
• The ability to reduce power consumption during peak hours and shape the load.
• Provide more information for consumers about power prices.
• Facilitate interconnection of small generation resources, including renewable resources such as wind and solar.
• Reduce the frequency and impact of power outages.

It’s important to realize that not all of the technologies needed for a true smart grid exist yet and that developing the smart grid is a gradual process. Appliance manufacturers are beginning to place chips in home appliances so the appliances receive signals from the utility through the advanced meters. To move toward a smart grid, public power districts and cooperatives are installing advanced meters that allow two-way remote communications. Rural utilities are also investigating and installing smart devices in distribution substations and along transmission lines.

Source: National Rural Electric Cooperative Association; Our Energy Our Future

Tornados Last Night....Video is amazing!

Storm chasers Matt Chatelain, Curtis McDonald, Daniel Betten and Brandon Lawson documented multiple tornados from close range during the June 17, 2009 tornado event in southwest Nebraska! Included are tornadoes west of Grand Island, NE (near the end) and the damaging Aurora, NE tornado.

I was going to write about more political things, especially since Nancy Pelosi is pushing hard to have the climate change policy heard on June 19th. That's tomorrow. However, in light of the severe weather last night, the safety issue seemd more pressing to me.

If a tornado has reached the ground, you can probably count on the fact that there will be downed power lines. We're asking everyone to not assume the line is dead...it probably isn't. Don't go near them. Call us (or the local utility affected by the downed lines).

This video is awesome....and I have no idea if it made the main stream media here in Nebraska.

Cut Your Electric Bill in HALF! Really! Really?

Lean times understandably motivate people to explore money-saving options. At what cost, however, might that pursuit of savings come?

Customers wanting to lower their electric bills most likely already know the sage advice about insulating their homes, investing in Energy Star appliances, and unplugging devices they are not using. But isn’t there a quicker, easier way? What about investing in one of those “magic boxes or cylinders” that promises to slice home electricity costs by up to 50%? Here’s a heads up. If a product sounds too good to be true on the energy-savings front, it probably is.

Numerous products fall into the deceptive and ineffective category. One to achieve significant notoriety is the Xpower Energy Saver. Forum Trading Inc. was collaborating with several other companies to sell a $200 cylinder they claimed consumers could plug into the wall to trim electricity consumption by 25%, and extend the life of household appliances.

Engineers at the University of Texas at Austin concluded that the Xpower could produce no more than a 0.06% reduction in electric use in an average house. Laboratory tests revealed that the product is an ordinary capacitor. Capacitors are usually employed in electronic circuits to store energy or differentiate between high- and low-frequency signals.

Saving energy is not as simple as plugging a device into an outlet or a meter. Utilities invest millions of dollars every year into researching the latest energy efficient and renewable energy options on the market. Dawson Public Power District offers energy audits, weatherization tips, rebates and other assistance to customers seeking answers about energy efficiency.

In today’s economic climate, marketers have found a niche offering a range of products that they promise will deliver quick and easy energy savings. The soundest advice to follow in this climate is: BUYER BEWARE. Instead of wasting money on schemes that fall short, Dawson PPD customers looking for answers are encouraged to call us so we can help you find ways to cut your energy usage.


Source: Cooperative Research Network; Elizabeth McGowan, Energetics Inc.

Top Lobbyist

There’s strength in numbers. That’s the conclusion of The Hill newspaper, which recently cited NRECA CEO Glenn English as one of the top lobbyists among Washington, D.C. associations. “English runs a group with broad grassroots power,” The Hill said in its May 21 edition, which pointed out that the chief executives of trade associations have to strike a balance among hundreds of members and then effectively convey that on Capitol Hill.

“Complicating the effort for trade group CEOs, however, is that not all of their members see eye to eye on things,” the paper said. “One has to constantly preach the benefits of sticking together to companies that may be competitors on another playing field.” English knows his way around the legislative process as a former 10-term congressman from Oklahoma.

He said the grassroots strength of NRECA is what truly makes it stand out. “Electric co-ops represent the interests of 42 million people in 47 states. There are very few groups that have such a broad base. “In this case, I am the representative of the recognition earned by the NRECA staff, statewide managers and the membership at large,” English said. “When we work together for a common purpose, elected officials must take our members into account.” A few other former congressmen also made the list, including Dave McCurdy of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Dan Glickman of the Motion Picture Association of America.

– Steven Johnson, Electric Coop Today, June 5, 2009

Are we talking to the Cheshire Cat?

When Alice in Wonderland came to a fork in the road, she asked the Cheshire Cat which way she should go. His answer: “That depends on where you want to go.” And with that, the cat disappears and leaves only the grin. I think it looks a lot like Henry Waxman’s grin as HR2454 heads to Congress.

Some proposals (American Clean Energy & Security Act 2009) will freely allocate allowances to electric utilities which may affect electricity prices. Waxman-Markey allocates allowances to local distribution companies, which are subject to cost-of-service regulation even in regions with restructured wholesale electricity markets. So, electricity prices would likely be affected by these allocations [Robert Stavins, The Energy Collective]. The Waxman-Markey legislation seeks to address this problem by specifying that the economic value of the allowances given to electricity and natural gas local distribution companies should be passed on to consumers through lump-sum rebates, not through a reduction in electricity rates, thereby compensating consumers for increases in electricity prices, but without reducing incentives for energy conservation.

The electricity sector will receive 35% of the allowances, representing 90% of current utility emissions. Local electric distribution companies, whose rates are regulated by the states, will receive 30% of the allowances, which they must use to protect consumers from electricity price increases.

The whole point of cap and trade legislation is to raise the price of energy derived from fossil fuels, in order to wean consumers from their (alleged) addiction to cheap gas and electricity. Don’t take our word for it; the Institute for Energy Research article can quote from the president himself to make the point: (Barack Obama January 2008). Click here to watch video. The summary for the allowance allocation goes to GREAT LENGTHS (even titling it CONSUMER PROTECTION) to explain how it will protect consumers against the economic harm created by the Waxman-Markey bill. “GRIN” No cat. J They admit this bill will raise electric rates (and the costs in other energy sectors).

According to Glenn English, CEO of National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, “The renewable energy provisions have been improved significantly in the bill as have the efficiency provisions. Including temporary free allowances in the bill is a step in the right direction to protecting electric cooperative consumers from unnecessarily increasing electricity bills, but the formula for allocation of allowances among industry segments needs to be equitable. The Committee adopted the formula developed by big investor owned power companies but that formula does not treat electric co-op consumers fairly. And, while the emission caps in the bill have been lowered somewhat, we agree with many members of the committee who believe they are still overly aggressive in the early years of the program and will need to be adjusted.”

On April 24, 2008, OMB Director Peter Orszag stated in testimony (to the Senate Committee on Finance) that regardless of whether the government auctioned off allowances or gave them away, electricity rates will still increase significantly based on any cap and trade system.

While improvement has been made in the bill, we urge you to contact your legislator so that HR2454 isn’t a slam-dunk. Insist that your representative take a hard stand on the formula for allowance allocation. Listen to your local utility’s concerns. This isn’t about us; we have to pass the costs on to consumers. This is about you and which fork in the road you want to take.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

Electronic Communication….not much good without electricity

Years ago, when I first started at Dawson Power, it was difficult to communicate quickly with multiple media outlets and customers to provide them with timely information. Our regular monthly newsletter is still written 6 weeks in advance of publication. We rarely used television to convey a message because our service territory spread(s) across 5,000 square miles and local stations were pricey and not available on satellite until recently. Our primary media source was KRVN 880 AM because they had a strong presence in our entire service territory (discovered by surveying our customers). Farmers and ranchers in this area depend heavily on KRVN to keep them "informed".

There's a standard joke in the electric industry about using electronic means to communicate with our customers. Why bother; they don't have electricity so they can't watch television or go online. Waiting for the weekly paper to tell them what happened isn't an option. The radio is a wonderful media tool but you have to be tuned in at just the right time. We are faced with a challenge and today people demand more from us.

Here's my take, while you might not have electricity (at that moment); someone you know does or you might access web or messages through your cell phone. Or you can call us. Someone answers our phone 24 hours a day seven days a week. When the power comes back on, you can go to our FaceBook page or Twitter and find out what happened.

So why do we Twitter, Blog and use FaceBook as a connectivity piece to our customers? These types of communication pieces give you instant information WHEN YOU WANT IT. When you choose to follow us on Twitter, you will see that we don't throw out 140 characters every 10-15 minutes simply because we can. No, we use Twitter every day but sparingly so it contains information we think is important to you. Blogs, like this one, give our customers an opportunity to talk back. FaceBook "friends" can have more details about the power district and the type of work we do, how we do it and what's going on that could affect your rates. FaceBook lets us use pictures, stories, videos and updates with a few quick clicks of a mouse.

We are a company moving forward to serve you. Today's energy, tomorrow's vision.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

 

 

The Flatulence Tax

One third of the world's human-made green house gas emissions come from food and agriculture.*

Determining the precise level of emissions from food and agriculture is tough, but by one count as much as 31% of GHG emissions can be attributed to food and agriculture, including emissions from land-use changes such as deforestation to make way for pasture-raising livestock or growing feed for livestock or biofuels. Note that this estimate does not include emissions from food transportation, waste, or manufacturing.*

Argentina is studying climate change. They have outfitted dairy cattle (Reuters: http://tinyurl.com/l8wqef ) to be measured for methane output…primarily as it relates to burping (which, according to them is more potent than cow flatulence). Having been around cattle, I beg to differ but then again, I'm not a scientist.

So, in addition to installing compact fluorescent bulbs, reducing the miles you drive, and planting a dozen trees, you must now consider the food you eat as part of the solution to reducing green house gas. Take-A-Bite (http://www.takeabite.cc/) indicates that choosing organic food and fresh produce will help save our planet. According to them, our mothers had profound insight when they told us to clean our plate because it will keep scraps from ending up in a landfill (thus producing methane gas).

What does this have to do with Nebraska and agriculture? Well, if electric-generating plants need to purchase carbon offsets so might ranchers and dairy operators who maintain large cattle herds (and who gets to define "large"). Isn't it difficult enough to raise cattle and make a living? Imagine an estimate of "flatulence by cow", multiplied by your herd, and then assigned an offset requirement? Farmers and ranchers will be competing with huge cattle companies to purchase/bid on these offsets. One more hoop to jump through, one more dollar out of your pocket, and one more line on your operating expense report. How much is "Beano" by the pallet, anyway?

I was going to ponder this more but instead I think I'll find out how they tie those plastic tanks on the cows.

Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District

*Source: Data from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Third Assessment Report.