The Nebraska Energy Office today confirmed the state will be providing appliance and residential heating and cooling equipment rebates funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the state will receive $1.71 million for rebates and to operate the program, and was awarded $171,100 to the Nebraska Energy Office yesterday.
The state is expected to submit its plan for types of appliances, the amount of the rebate by appliance and how the program will operate to the U.S. Department of Energy on or before the October 15, 2009 deadline. Under the program, only ten types of appliances and heating and cooling equipment are eligible for rebates: boilers, central air conditioners, clothes washers, dishwashers, freezers, furnaces (oil and gas), heat pumps (air source and geothermal), refrigerators, room air conditioners and water heaters. States have the option of selecting some or all of the eligible appliances and equipment. All appliances and equipment must meet or exceed Energy Star standards.
Purchases of Energy Star qualified appliances and equipment prior to the start of the program in Nebraska will not eligible for rebates.
The Energy Office is consulting with electric and natural gas utilities and appliance retailers in designing the state’s program. Once the U.S. Department of Energy receives the state’s application in October, federal energy staff will review, request modifications and approve the application. How long that review might take is unknown at this time, but approval will not be prior to October 15, 2009. When the state’s application is approved, the Energy Office hopes to have a rebate program operational within 30 days.
Questions about these loans can be directed to Jerry Loos at jerry.loos@nebraska.gov or 402-471-3356.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
DPPD...NPPD....It's all the same, right?
There are MANY people, including my own family, who don’t understand the difference between Dawson Public Power District (DPPD) and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD). We work closely with NPPD on many projects with the most recent one being a joint application for stimulus grant money for smart grid services.
Dawson Public Power District serves 23,283 electric meters and maintains 5,720 miles of power lines in south central Nebraska, along the Platte River Valley. Dawson PPD was organized on February 26, 1937.
With nearly 80 employees (in 1943, we had 15), Dawson is one of the largest rural systems in the state of Nebraska. We are members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and the Nebraska Rural Electric Association (NREA). The District is guided by an elected eleven-person board of directors representing the people we serve. By the way, Dawson PPD is a not-for-profit organization.
Dawson's service territory includes all of the rural areas in Dawson and Buffalo Counties, approximately two-thirds of Gosper County, a third of Lincoln County and parts of Custer, Sherman and Frontier Counties. The district also serves several villages: Hershey, Maxwell, Brady, Farnam, Eustis, Elwood, Eddyville, Smithfield, Overton, Sumner, Miller, Riverdale, Amherst, Odessa, and Pleasanton.
Dawson Public Power District (DPPD) purchases electricity from Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and then sells it to you. More than 70 percent of NPPD’s revenues are derived through wholesale power supply agreements like the one they have with us.
So if you hear a “PPD” in the news, check that first letter to see if its “D”PPD or “N”PPD – even “C”PPD (Custer Public Power District). Back in the good old days, many of the rural electric companies were simply called “the REA”. We love those acronyms…until they confuse people.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District
Dawson Public Power District serves 23,283 electric meters and maintains 5,720 miles of power lines in south central Nebraska, along the Platte River Valley. Dawson PPD was organized on February 26, 1937.
With nearly 80 employees (in 1943, we had 15), Dawson is one of the largest rural systems in the state of Nebraska. We are members of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and the Nebraska Rural Electric Association (NREA). The District is guided by an elected eleven-person board of directors representing the people we serve. By the way, Dawson PPD is a not-for-profit organization.
Dawson's service territory includes all of the rural areas in Dawson and Buffalo Counties, approximately two-thirds of Gosper County, a third of Lincoln County and parts of Custer, Sherman and Frontier Counties. The district also serves several villages: Hershey, Maxwell, Brady, Farnam, Eustis, Elwood, Eddyville, Smithfield, Overton, Sumner, Miller, Riverdale, Amherst, Odessa, and Pleasanton.
Dawson Public Power District (DPPD) purchases electricity from Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) and then sells it to you. More than 70 percent of NPPD’s revenues are derived through wholesale power supply agreements like the one they have with us.
So if you hear a “PPD” in the news, check that first letter to see if its “D”PPD or “N”PPD – even “C”PPD (Custer Public Power District). Back in the good old days, many of the rural electric companies were simply called “the REA”. We love those acronyms…until they confuse people.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District
Thursday, August 20, 2009
A career as a lineman
Since my blog on Tuesday was about the respect our linemen deserve, I thought I'd show you a video clip of linemen being trained in central Ohio at MTC. I picked this video because it was shot this month. Dawson Public Power District would encourage our young men and women graduating from high school to consider going to lineman school.
In Nebraska, anyone interested in utility line training can look into the courses offered at Western Nebraska Community College (http://www.wncc.net/); and Northeast Community College (http://www.northeastcollege.com/).
Dawson Public Power District offers scholarships. Applications must be received no later than March 2010 (plenty of time to think about it!).
It's a great and very rewarding career. Just ask any of our linemen....
In Nebraska, anyone interested in utility line training can look into the courses offered at Western Nebraska Community College (http://www.wncc.net/); and Northeast Community College (http://www.northeastcollege.com/).
Dawson Public Power District offers scholarships. Applications must be received no later than March 2010 (plenty of time to think about it!).
It's a great and very rewarding career. Just ask any of our linemen....
Monday, August 17, 2009
R-E-S-P-E-C-T....and linemen....
In most utility companies the great division is called “inside” versus “outside” workers. The truth is it takes all of us to make a great company.
I’ve worked in the utility industry since I was…ok, let’s just say it’s been a career that has spanned more than 30 years. Not in the same place, mind you – but always in electricity. What I know ABOUT electricity can fit on the end of my pinky. And by opposite comparison, linemen are men (or women) of few words so the ins and outs of my job could fit in the palm of their hand.
I can honestly tell you that I prefer my “inside” job over what the lineman must face outside. It’s not just battling the weather elements, but it’s also about the significant danger that those of us flipping switches in our homes probably take for granted. The first time I put on high voltage gloves and stuck my hand inside a padmount transformer, the panic that rose (in addition to the hair on the back of my neck) was nothing short of terror. My only task was to tighten a bolt but I couldn’t. It was a lesson about electricity – but it was a bigger lesson about respect.
Earlier in my career, I got to teach first aid to linemen…and as part of that, pole top rescue. In order to teach it, I had to “DO IT.” Picture a 125+ pound (we don’t need to be exact, do we?) female climbing 18-20 feet on a pole (climbing up isn’t too bad), wrapping the hand line around the 160 pound dummy, two half hitches (was supposed to be 3) remove the slack, firm grip on the fall line -- but forgot what my instructor said about wrapping the line up and around the cross arm twice (then wrap it over itself at least twice) to offset the weight of the dummy against my (lighter) weight before I cut the belt. I just threw it over the cross arm and tied it around the dummy, pretty happy with myself about those half hitches. There were 7 linemen watching me from the ground. One bucket truck poised with a lineman ready to stop a catastrophe. He wasn’t quite quick enough. The proud moment of cutting the belt came and went so quickly that I wasn’t even cognizant of flying up and hitting my knees on the cross arm braces, then the cross arm (which by the way, kept me from flying completely over the top of the pole). Later I found out the belt would have stopped me too but my thighs took a beating. The victim fell to the ground with enough force that the thud should have been heard for miles…except for my screaming.
My pride was thoroughly shattered and the howls of laughter from the linemen below only served to humiliate me further. Nicely enough, the lineman in the bucket truck quit laughing long enough to rescue me from my perched position on the cross arms. Once on the ground, I asked to do it again. Going up was a bit slower, the steps to complete the pole top rescue even slower (but this time right), and I was able to lower the victim to the ground. Linemen make pole top rescue AND climbing down a pole look easy but rest assured it is not. The next day I thought I’d been hit by a truck.
My respect for linemen is HUGE.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District
I’ve worked in the utility industry since I was…ok, let’s just say it’s been a career that has spanned more than 30 years. Not in the same place, mind you – but always in electricity. What I know ABOUT electricity can fit on the end of my pinky. And by opposite comparison, linemen are men (or women) of few words so the ins and outs of my job could fit in the palm of their hand.
I can honestly tell you that I prefer my “inside” job over what the lineman must face outside. It’s not just battling the weather elements, but it’s also about the significant danger that those of us flipping switches in our homes probably take for granted. The first time I put on high voltage gloves and stuck my hand inside a padmount transformer, the panic that rose (in addition to the hair on the back of my neck) was nothing short of terror. My only task was to tighten a bolt but I couldn’t. It was a lesson about electricity – but it was a bigger lesson about respect.
Earlier in my career, I got to teach first aid to linemen…and as part of that, pole top rescue. In order to teach it, I had to “DO IT.” Picture a 125+ pound (we don’t need to be exact, do we?) female climbing 18-20 feet on a pole (climbing up isn’t too bad), wrapping the hand line around the 160 pound dummy, two half hitches (was supposed to be 3) remove the slack, firm grip on the fall line -- but forgot what my instructor said about wrapping the line up and around the cross arm twice (then wrap it over itself at least twice) to offset the weight of the dummy against my (lighter) weight before I cut the belt. I just threw it over the cross arm and tied it around the dummy, pretty happy with myself about those half hitches. There were 7 linemen watching me from the ground. One bucket truck poised with a lineman ready to stop a catastrophe. He wasn’t quite quick enough. The proud moment of cutting the belt came and went so quickly that I wasn’t even cognizant of flying up and hitting my knees on the cross arm braces, then the cross arm (which by the way, kept me from flying completely over the top of the pole). Later I found out the belt would have stopped me too but my thighs took a beating. The victim fell to the ground with enough force that the thud should have been heard for miles…except for my screaming.
My pride was thoroughly shattered and the howls of laughter from the linemen below only served to humiliate me further. Nicely enough, the lineman in the bucket truck quit laughing long enough to rescue me from my perched position on the cross arms. Once on the ground, I asked to do it again. Going up was a bit slower, the steps to complete the pole top rescue even slower (but this time right), and I was able to lower the victim to the ground. Linemen make pole top rescue AND climbing down a pole look easy but rest assured it is not. The next day I thought I’d been hit by a truck.
My respect for linemen is HUGE.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Smart Grid vs. Smart Home: What's In It For Me?
Not only do I work for Dawson PPD, I am also a Dawson PPD electric customer. I am able to think like a customer when I make some decisions. If you read yesterday’s blog you know I struggled with how a smart grid would benefit our customers.
Dawson PPD will start implementing a smart grid build in 2010 for our entire system that will take approximately 3 years to complete. We have applied for a stimulus grant that could pay for up to 50% of the project cost.
After our substations are upgraded, we will pilot 1,000 homes with smart grid services that will mean our customers can monitor and control their usage by changing some of the ways (or times) in which they complete tasks that require electricity.
Here’s my catch on watching my electric usage. I don’t want to be running to a monitor every 15 minutes to see if I’m using too much or using on a high peak time. If I have to do that, I won’t change a thing and will pay that higher rate. I want something (a device or notice) that will automatically change my usage pattern without impacting me significantly. My personal perspective will probably shape our business application.
There’s a big difference between Smart GRID and Smart HOME. Smart Grid is about the efficient control and transference of electricity along transmission or distribution utilities while the Smart Home is about managing your internal energy sources. GE has put together a simple video about the smart grid system and why it’s important to our future.
I already have a programmable thermostat (Smart HOME) which automatically adjusts to the times I set for when we’re home or not home. What more could I want…or need? Well, it has rained a lot and while I have an automated sprinkler system, it sure would be nice to turn it off (from ANYWHERE) when it starts raining without reprogramming it. Could my fridge keep track of what’s inside, including expiration dates and pre-order my regular groceries for pick up at my local store? The savings alone by not deviating from my confounded grocery list could be HUGE. These are smart home features, some of which are available now.
Now look at Smart GRID: Time of use (TOU) rates will be part of our rate structure in the near future. NPPD will begin a time of use rate pilot program in Chadron September 1st. In other words, if you choose to use electricity during peak times, your electricity will be measured and billed at a higher rate. This might mean I will put off running the dishwasher until after 9:00 p.m. or that I will have my heat pump and my hot water heater “controlled” by cycling them off for a few minutes every hour. Those two changes at home would probably save me lots of money.
That’s our future, my friend.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District
Dawson PPD will start implementing a smart grid build in 2010 for our entire system that will take approximately 3 years to complete. We have applied for a stimulus grant that could pay for up to 50% of the project cost.
After our substations are upgraded, we will pilot 1,000 homes with smart grid services that will mean our customers can monitor and control their usage by changing some of the ways (or times) in which they complete tasks that require electricity.
Here’s my catch on watching my electric usage. I don’t want to be running to a monitor every 15 minutes to see if I’m using too much or using on a high peak time. If I have to do that, I won’t change a thing and will pay that higher rate. I want something (a device or notice) that will automatically change my usage pattern without impacting me significantly. My personal perspective will probably shape our business application.
There’s a big difference between Smart GRID and Smart HOME. Smart Grid is about the efficient control and transference of electricity along transmission or distribution utilities while the Smart Home is about managing your internal energy sources. GE has put together a simple video about the smart grid system and why it’s important to our future.
I already have a programmable thermostat (Smart HOME) which automatically adjusts to the times I set for when we’re home or not home. What more could I want…or need? Well, it has rained a lot and while I have an automated sprinkler system, it sure would be nice to turn it off (from ANYWHERE) when it starts raining without reprogramming it. Could my fridge keep track of what’s inside, including expiration dates and pre-order my regular groceries for pick up at my local store? The savings alone by not deviating from my confounded grocery list could be HUGE. These are smart home features, some of which are available now.
Now look at Smart GRID: Time of use (TOU) rates will be part of our rate structure in the near future. NPPD will begin a time of use rate pilot program in Chadron September 1st. In other words, if you choose to use electricity during peak times, your electricity will be measured and billed at a higher rate. This might mean I will put off running the dishwasher until after 9:00 p.m. or that I will have my heat pump and my hot water heater “controlled” by cycling them off for a few minutes every hour. Those two changes at home would probably save me lots of money.
That’s our future, my friend.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District
Monday, August 10, 2009
Dawson PPD Consumers & Smart Grid
For the past few months, Dawson Public Power District has been working with Nebraska Public Power District and 14 other utility systems in Nebraska to put together a joint grant application for stimulus funds designed to assist us (financially) in building a regional smart grid structure. The entire process has been an impressive endeavor in teamwork.
I’ll be honest… I struggled with the additional costs a smart grid system will impose on our consumers. However, as I’m working through the definition and expectation of smart grid services, I’m beginning to realize the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Reason #1 Whether we (as a utility or a consumer) approve of the smart grid concept or not, it is the way all utilities will be operating in the very near future. Under President Obama’s vision for our energy system, it will be imperative that a smart grid be in place that will allow each consumer to have better control and understanding of their electricity use.
Reason #2 If a cap and trade system is passed by the Senate, even with significant modifications, consumers will need to be able to control usage in order to reduce their electricity costs. Consumers will not be interested in controlling their usage unless it is a simple, easy to understand process.
Reason #3 System reliability will improved based on our ability to detect problem areas before they become outage areas.
Reason #4 Line loss can decrease significantly. Line loss is the amount of electricity “lost” through the system based on resistance on the line (or other line interferences). Interference can be detected through a smart grid system. Reduction of line loss can save thousands of dollars each month.
Reason #5 The bigger picture means our generator (NPPD) can more effectively monitor statewide loads. It allows them to better manage their generating options.
Reason #6 A smart grid system will modernize our electric grid to improve economic and national security. (DOE-GRID 2030)
The request for stimulus funding was $63 million dollars total. Of that, about $9 million was for Dawson PPD. The Department of Energy (DOE) could fund up to 50% of our total request. For those utilities who know that smart grid services will be required in the near future, this is our way of possibly saving 50% of the cost by having the funds granted by DOE. Funding announcements will be made in mid to late October.
Thursday’s blog (What’s In It For Me) will tell our customers how a smart grid could directly affect them.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District
I’ll be honest… I struggled with the additional costs a smart grid system will impose on our consumers. However, as I’m working through the definition and expectation of smart grid services, I’m beginning to realize the benefits far outweigh the costs.
Reason #1 Whether we (as a utility or a consumer) approve of the smart grid concept or not, it is the way all utilities will be operating in the very near future. Under President Obama’s vision for our energy system, it will be imperative that a smart grid be in place that will allow each consumer to have better control and understanding of their electricity use.
Reason #2 If a cap and trade system is passed by the Senate, even with significant modifications, consumers will need to be able to control usage in order to reduce their electricity costs. Consumers will not be interested in controlling their usage unless it is a simple, easy to understand process.
Reason #3 System reliability will improved based on our ability to detect problem areas before they become outage areas.
Reason #4 Line loss can decrease significantly. Line loss is the amount of electricity “lost” through the system based on resistance on the line (or other line interferences). Interference can be detected through a smart grid system. Reduction of line loss can save thousands of dollars each month.
Reason #5 The bigger picture means our generator (NPPD) can more effectively monitor statewide loads. It allows them to better manage their generating options.
Reason #6 A smart grid system will modernize our electric grid to improve economic and national security. (DOE-GRID 2030)
The request for stimulus funding was $63 million dollars total. Of that, about $9 million was for Dawson PPD. The Department of Energy (DOE) could fund up to 50% of our total request. For those utilities who know that smart grid services will be required in the near future, this is our way of possibly saving 50% of the cost by having the funds granted by DOE. Funding announcements will be made in mid to late October.
Thursday’s blog (What’s In It For Me) will tell our customers how a smart grid could directly affect them.
Gwen Kautz, Customer Service Manager
Dawson Public Power District
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
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