January 2009
Co-ops Remain One Step Ahead of the Times
by Keven Groenewold
In a recent speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Senator Jeff Bingaman laid out six key energy challenges that the next Congress will face.
Among these is the need to improve efficiency across the transportation, building construction and appliance sectors. And utilities will be expected to do their part. One thing is clear; co-ops are already helping their members be more efficient with electricity.
Our programs vary depending on the circumstances at each co-op. If there is a significant irrigation load, we work with local farmers to install efficient motors and shift their consumption to off-peak periods. If members use electricity to heat their homes, we help with insulation, efficient heating systems and once again, off-peak consumption.
One thing is clear; co-ops are already helping their members be more efficient with electricity.
Consumers measure efficiency by the bills they pay and whether they get a good value for the energy dollar. Economists say efficiency is a measure of how many gizmos a company can make with a given amount of raw material and labor. More gizmos mean more efficiency. Fewer gizmos imply inefficiency.
For electric utilities, efficiency means using the existing grid and power plants to deliver more electricity to the consumer at no greater cost per kilowatt-hour (kWh). That does not mean encouraging consumers to use electricity unwisely. The existing electric system can produce a finite amount of power. If consumers need more electricity than we can make and deliver, we have to build new power plants and expand the power grid, which can translate into higher prices for electricity. If, however, consumers use electricity wisely, co-ops can provide them more power without increasing the average cost per kWh or expanding the system. That’s fairly simple to do when you realize that most electricity is used at certain specific times.
In southern New Mexico, the peak demand for electricity is on summer afternoons when temperatures are highest. In northern New Mexico, that tends to shift to winter evenings when the thermometer drops.
Since electricity cannot be stored in any significant amount, we have to be able to make all that electricity at the exact moment the member wants it. Later that day —or later that year—consumers don’t use as much power and your cooperative has extra space on its power lines.
If members can move their consumption away from these peak times and take advantage of the off-peak slack, they can save on their power bill without giving up any comfort.
Energy efficiency gurus call this “Demand Response.” Co-ops call this business as usual, since we have been practicing these measures for decades. Since the 1980s we have had appliance programs, water heater programs, electric thermal storage programs, and others. Through these programs, cooperatives help their members manage load and minimize costs. Some off-peak rates are less than half the cost of the on-peak rate.
The results are a win-win solution for the member and the co-op.
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