Worried about energy curtailment? Don't sweat it

Unlike workers affected by the blackouts in California, or Alliant Energy’s "interruption program" in Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s faculty, staff, and students won’t be left in the dark. Instead, staff members in some campus buildings will be called on to reduce their power usage by turning off unused coffeepots, copiers, and classroom lights, and by raising the thermostat on air-conditioning systems.

According to Ferman Milster, manager of the University’s Power Plant, the curtailment contract with MidAmerican Energy is a load management program.

"On a hot summer day the University uses about 55 megawatts of power—typically the highest demand all year," Milster says. "We can produce just under half that load ourselves and then we purchase the rest. The curtailment program allows MidAmerican to reduce by 13 megawatts the amount of energy they are obligated to provide to us."

The University can be curtailed up to 16 times between June 1 and Sept. 30. Curtailment generally occurs for a six-hour block of time in the afternoon.

"Whether we’re never curtailed, or are curtailed once or 16 times, our participation in the contract saves the University $455,000 annually," Milster says.

This year, the staff at Facilities Services Group (FSG) are pursuing a more aggressive curtailment plan than during previous years. This is the fourth year of the five-year contract.

"The demand for power at the University is growing by one-and-a-half to three megawatts per year," Milster says. "So the need to reduce our maximum electrical load has increased."

The list of participating buildings is longer this year. But based on past years, it’s unlikely there will be 16 curtailment days. In the summer of 2000, there was only one instance of curtailment, the summer of 1999 saw seven instances, and in the summer of 1998 there were none.

The list of buildings, along with other information about the energy curtailment program, can be found on-line at www.uiowa.edu/~fusfsg/utils/curtailment.htm. A practice curtailment, lasting only an hour or so, is scheduled for June 21.

Notice of impending curtailment will be distributed via e-mail, news releases, announcements on WSUI and KSUI, and on the University’s and FSG’s home web pages. Customer service representatives can be reached at (38)4-0794 to answer questions about the curtailment.

What can building occupants expect during an actual curtailment?

"We use different strategies in each building," says Ann Rosenthal, senior engineer in FSG’s Operations and Maintenance. "What we decide to do is based on the air-conditioning equipment and the type of occupancy in each building. We consider the possibility of turning off cooling systems, and if we can’t, then we consider raising room temperatures approximately five degrees."

In addition to turning off unused lights and equipment, building occupants are encouraged to keep windows shut during a curtailment.

"If you let in hotter, more humid air, it will be harder to cool down at the end of the curtailment," Rosenthal says.

The curtailment program is a shared value, according to Milster. It benefits the University by reducing the rates it pays for power, and it benefits MidAmerican, which gains capacity by curtailing the University and other clients during periods of peak power demand. That gain in capacity means that MidAmerican can delay building additional power plants and doesn’t have to purchase energy from other sources.

"In addition to honoring the curtailment contract," says John Amend, director of FSG, "in this time of budget restrictions, it behooves us to retain as much energy as possible. And we have a responsibility to be good stewards of our resources."

FSG is examining a number of options for controlling energy costs and usage, including ways to use nighttime power (the least expensive) and the possible consolidation of facilities during periods of peak energy demand.

Amend notes that the energy situation in California should serve as a warning about what can happen in Iowa.

"Things will have to change," Amend says. "And things will change in winter too. You may find yourself wearing an extra sweater at work. Conditions will be different but not impossible."

Article by Linzee Kull McCray