By Michelle Kennedy
News-Chronicle
DE PERE - Could a California-style energy crisis happen here in Wisconsin? That was the question on the minds of many attendees to a seminar Tuesday at St. Norbert College.
"Weathering the Energy Storm," sponsored by the Wisconsin Focus on Energy program, was directed at business owners, building contractors, facility managers and architects so that they could learn ways to "keep profits up, losses down and buildings out of the dark in the wake of rising energy costs and widespread energy shortages."
Susan Stratton, director of the Wisconsin Public Utility Institute, presented information about the changing energy market and new market-based electric pricing tools.
"Many states are looking at deregulation as an option," she said. "Massachusetts has a successful deregulation plan, and by that I don't mean that they have the highest number of customers switching utility companies."
Stratton advocates a variety of ways to reduce energy usage without hurting business revenue or energy demands. An example of an alternative to blackouts is the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. mining company buyout in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
Last July, when electric prices peaked at 10 to 20 times normal prices and supply was tight, Wisconsin Electric Power Co. asked Cleveland-Cliffs to shut its ore crushers down. After some initial resistance, it accepted an offer of $82,000, equivalent to six times the price of energy to a customer, and shut down for a day. Cleveland-Cliffs was able to pay its employees and still turn a profit for the day.
Other price control options include Internet-controlled heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and swimming pool pumps. Typically, Stratton said, a monthly credit is compensation for a limited number of radio or Internet controlled shutoffs.
Real Time Pricing, while currently not available in Wisconsin, reflects supply and demand conditions by hour and by day.
"Customers wouldn't purchase energy at peak hours if they knew how much it cost them," Stratton said.
Commissioner Joe Mettner of the state Public Service Commission said much of California's energy debacle is related to institutional issues like mandatory trading, gas dependent fuel mix in generation portfolio and the fact the no power plants have recently been constructed.
Wisconsin on the other hand, Mettner said, has a more incremental approach. "We have incentives for new power generation like the legalization of merchant plants as well as a streamlined regulatory process."
Currently three power plants are under construction in Wisconsin, amounting to 550 megawatts of electricity. Two more have been approved for construction and under 20 have either an application on file or an application is expected.
"There hasn't been a coal plant built in this state in 15 years," Mettner said. "Some plants are getting old and need to be retired. Replacing them with coal-burning power plants would require state-of-the-art emissions technology. There is also a moratorium on nuclear power plants in Wisconsin. I know nuclear energy has its opponents, but I don't think you can deny its viability."
Richard Dahnke of Franklin Energy Services Inc. said that every business has a lot of decisions to make regarding its future energy usage.
"It's not like the old days where the utility company said 'here's the tariff, take it or leave it,'" he said. "And the choices aren't just how much should we buy, but whether or not we should sell."
FYI
For more information on projects that can help a business become more energy efficient, visit these Web sites:
www.wifocusonenergy.com
www.powerthefuture.net
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